N-Alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in total suspended particulates from the southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Concentrations, seasonal variations, and sources

Abstract

Sixty-two suspended particle (TSP) samples were collected from Lulang on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau from July 2008 and July 2009 to investigate the concentrations, seasonal variations, and sources of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Samples were analyzed using thermal-deposition gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The concentrations of particulate total n-alkanes ranged from 0.10 to 21.83ngm−3, with an annual mean of 1.25ngm−3; the PAHs ranged from 0.06 to 2.53, with a mean of 0.59 ngm−3. Up to 70% of PAHs were 5- and 6-ring compounds. The n-alkanes and PAHs both showed higher concentrations in winter and lower concentrations in summer. Analyses of diagnostic ratios indicate that 6.4% to 58.9% (mean 24.9%) of the n-alkanes were from plant waxes. Source characterization studies, i.e. diagnostic ratio and positive factor matrix analysis, suggest that the PAHs were from biomass burning as well as from fossil fuel combustion. Backward trajectory analysis suggests that the biomass mass burning pollutants could be from South Asia and western China via long distance transport. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the concentrations, seasonal variations, and sources of n-alkanes and PAHs in a remote background area in Tibetan Plateau.