Sources of atmospheric aerosol from long-term measurements (5 years) of chemical composition in Athens, Greece

Abstract

To identify the sources of aerosols in Greater Athens Area (GAA), a total of 1510 daily samples of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10–2,5) aerosols were collected at a suburban site (Penteli), during a five year period (May 2008–April 2013) corresponding to the period before and during the financial crisis. In addition, aerosol sampling was also conducted in parallel at an urban site (Thissio), during specific, short-term campaigns during all seasons. In all these samples mass and chemical composition measurements were performed, the latest only at the fine fraction. Particulate organic matter (POM) and ionic masses (IM) are the main contributors of aerosol mass, equally contributing by accounting for about 24% of the fine aerosol mass. In the IM, nss-SO4−2 is the prevailing specie followed by NO3− and NH4+ and shows a decreasing trend during the 2008–2013 period similar to that observed for PM masses. The contribution of water in fine aerosol is equally significant (21±2%), while during dust transport, the contribution of dust increases from 7±2% to 31±9%. Source apportionment (PCA and PMF) and mass closure exercises identified the presence of six sources of fine aerosols: secondary photochemistry, primary combustion, soil, biomass burning, sea salt and traffic. Finally, from winter 2012 to winter 2013 the contribution of POM to the urban aerosol mass is increased by almost 30%, reflecting the impact of wood combustion (dominant fuel for domestic heating) to air quality in Athens, which massively started in winter 2013.