Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and total extractable particulate organic matter in the Arctic aerosol

Abstract

Samples of total suspended paniculate matter were collected in March and August 1979 at Barrow, Alaska, a remote site in the Arctic. Ambient concentrations of extractable paniculate organic matter (POM), of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and of 210Pb were determined. The samples were also examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Average concentrations of POM and PAH were similar to those reported for other remote sites in the northern hemisphere, but the concentrations were considerably higher in March than in August. The presence of fly ash in the samples collected during the March sampling period, as well as seasonal differences in the concentrations of the organic species and 210Pb and in meteorology indicate that the principal source of POM and PAH was fossil fuel combustion in the mid-latitudes during the March sampling period.