Water‐soluble organic nitrogen in atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5) from northern California

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that organic nitrogen (ON) is a ubiquitous and significant component of atmospheric dry and wet deposition, but very little is known about the concentrations and speciation of organic nitrogen in aerosol particles. In addition, while amino compounds also appear to be ubiquitous in atmospheric condensed phases, their contribution to organic nitrogen has not been previously quantified. To address these issues, we have characterized the water‐soluble organic nitrogen and amino compounds in fine particles (PM2.5) collected in Davis, California, over a period of 1 year. Concentrations of water‐soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) ranged from 3.1–57.8 nmol N m−3 air, peaking during winter and early spring, and typically accounted for ∼20% of total nitrogen in Davis PM2.5. Assuming an average N‐normalized molecular weight of 100 Da per N atom for WSON, particulate organic nitrogen had a median mass concentration of 1.6 μg m−3 air, and typically represented 18% of the total fine particle mass. The average mass of water‐soluble ON in Davis PM2.5 was comparable to that of sulfate during the summer, but was significantly higher in winter. Total amino compounds (free plus combined forms) made up a significant portion of particulate organic nitrogen (median value equal to 23%), primarily due to the presence of combined amino compounds such as proteins and peptides. Total amino compounds had a median mass concentration of 290 ng m−3 air, and typically accounted for 3.3% of the total fine particle mass. These results indicate that organic nitrogen is a significant component of fine particles in northern California, and suggest that this group of compounds might play an important role in the ecological, radiative, and potential health effects of atmospheric fine particles in this region.