Abstract
Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were measured in PM2.5 and PM10 samples collected at Diabla Gora (Puszcza Borecka National Nature Reserve, Poland) between 1 January and 31 December 2009, to investigate the seasonal and daily concentration variations and source regions. Strict sampling and measurement procedure, together with analysis of air mass backward trajectories and pollutant markers, indicated that the most important sources of carbon in the aerosols over Diabla Gora were vegetation, agricultural activity, and biomass burning. The highest contribution of secondary organic carbon (SOC) in aerosol mass (70 %) was detected during summer as a result of increased vegetation. In spring and autumn, raised concentrations of primary OC, calcium, and potassium and the presence of ammonium nitrate were observed in aerosols due to emission from surrounding fields and forests, as well as from fires in Lithuania. Anthropogenic influence on the increase in concentration of all carbon species was observed only in winter, when air masses drifted in from habitations situated within a radius of 50 km from the Diabla Gora station. Transport was of sporadic significance to the measured concentrations, and only in PM2.5 when wind speed was close to 1 m s−1. In this case, the concentration of EC rose several fold. Such a tendency was particularly noticeable with the influx of air masses from nearby cities and the Polish-Russian border, which is located 29 km away from the station.
Highlights
Particulate matter (PM) is still a significant atmospheric pollutant in Europe (Pateraki et al 2012)
This paper reports the results of long-term measurements of PM2.5 and PM10 collected in the rural area of Puszcza Borecka (Polish National Nature Reserve)
The seasonal and daily variability of elemental carbon (EC) and primary and secondary organic carbon concentrations and their contribution in PM2.5 and PM10 were determined under the influence of the changeable weather conditions
Summary
Particulate matter (PM) is still a significant atmospheric pollutant in Europe (Pateraki et al 2012). Among the more important components of atmospheric aerosols is carbon, which on average constitutes 20–30 % of PM10 mass and as much as 50 % of PM2.5 (Kim et al 2012). Their presence in the atmosphere affects the regional and global water budget, climate change, and agriculture (Satsangi et al 2012), and there is substantial evidence of associations between air pollution and human health (Vanos et al 2015). Publications concerning elemental and organic (both primary and secondary) carbon in aerosols of different sizes at rural stations in north-eastern Poland (and even Eastern Europe) are
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