Abstract
The chemical composition and sources of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) on Galway, a west coast city of Ireland, were characterized using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor during summertime in June 2016. Organic aerosol (OA) was found to be the major part of NR-PM1 (54%), followed by secondary inorganic sulfate (25%), ammonium (11%), and nitrate (10%). Factor analysis revealed that oxygenated OA (OOA) was the dominant OA factor, on average accounting for 84% of the total OA. The remaining 16% of OA was attributed to primary peat burning associated with domestic heating activities. As a result, secondary organic and inorganic aerosol together accounted for 91% of the total NR-PM1, pointing to an aged aerosol population originating from secondary formation during long-range transport. Concentration-weighted trajectory analysis indicated that these secondary aerosols were mainly associated with easterly long-range transport from the UK and/or France.
Highlights
Atmospheric aerosol has a significant impact on visibility and air quality both locally and regionally, and plays an important role in climate by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, or by acting as a nucleus for cloud condensation [1,2,3,4]
−3 countries, especially in sized cities in the France, with similar air mass back the summertime average NR-PM1 concentration of 2.7 ± 2.3 μg m in Galway is lower than that trajectories in summer
54% of the NR-PM1 was comprised of organic aerosol, 84% of which was attributed to secondary production (OOA factor), which shows a good time series correlation with sulfate (R = 0.83), and only 16% of which was coming from primary peat burning
Summary
Atmospheric aerosol has a significant impact on visibility and air quality both locally and regionally, and plays an important role in climate by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, or by acting as a nucleus for cloud condensation [1,2,3,4]. Aerosol particles can be directly emitted from primary sources (e.g., traffic, domestic heating, wild fires, and volcano emissions) or be formed via gas-to-particle formation. These are known as primary and secondary aerosols, respectively. AMS can provide near real-time measurements of non-refractory submicron aerosol species (NR-PM1 ): Organic aerosol
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