Abstract
Indoor particles and microclimate were measured in summer (August 2004) and winter (January 2005) periods inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-Cotta Museum in Xi’an, China. Indoor temperature ranged from 21.9°C to 32.4°C in summer and from 0°C to 5.3°C in winter. Relative humidity varied from 56% to 80% in summer and from 48% to 78% in winter. The number concentrations of particles were lower (0.3–1.0 μm) in summer, and were higher (1.0–7.0 μm) in winter. The average indoor PM2.5 and TSP concentrations were 108.4 ± 30.3 μg/m 3 and 172.4 ± 46.5 μg/m 3 in summer and were 242.3 ± 189.0 μg/m 3 and 312.5 ± 112.8 μg/m 3 in winter, respectively. Sulfate, organic matter, and geological material dominated indoor PM2.5, followed by ammonium, nitrate, and elemental carbon. Several milligram of sulfate particles can deposited in the museum per square meter each year based on the dry deposition estimate. High concentrations of acidic particles suspended inside the museum and their depositions have high risk for the erosion of the terra-cotta figures.
Highlights
Air quality in museums is important to the preservation of rare antiquities (Thomson, 1965; Baer and Banks, 1985; Brimblecombe, 1990; Nazaroff et al, 1990; Oddy, 1994; DeBock et al, 1996) with damage being reported in the mid-19th century at British Art Gallery (Broughton, 1857; Speirs, 1892)
Even though the museum is located in a semi-arid region of China, with an annual precipitation of 550 mm, the average indoor relative humidity (RH) still reaches 70% during summer and 60% during winter
These levels are 15–20% higher than those measured at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, UK (Brimblecombe et al, 1999), and Correr museum, Italy (Camuffo et al, 1999)
Summary
Air quality in museums is important to the preservation of rare antiquities (Thomson, 1965; Baer and Banks, 1985; Brimblecombe, 1990; Nazaroff et al, 1990; Oddy, 1994; DeBock et al, 1996) with damage being reported in the mid-19th century at British Art Gallery (Broughton, 1857; Speirs, 1892). Indoor particles and microclimate were measured in summer (August 2004) and winter (January 2005) periods inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-Cotta Museum in Xi’an, China. The average indoor PM2.5 and TSP concentrations were 108.4 ± 30.3 ȝg/m3 and 172.4 ± 46.5 ȝg/m3 in summer and were 242.3 ± 189.0 ȝg/m3 and 312.5 ± 112.8 ȝg/m3 in winter, respectively.
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