Elemental Composition Of Atmospheric Aerosols Research Articles

Platinum Group Elements, Lanthanoids and Other Metals of Concern in Road Dust and Airborne Particles in Houston, TX

Metal-content of inhalable fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ≤ 2.5 µm in diameter) can increase the risk of adverse health outcomes while simultaneously providing clues to their origins. A unique aspect of Houston aerosols is their lanthanoid enrichment emanating from crude oil-cracking units in petroleum refineries with smaller contributions from oil combustion and shipping activities. Similarly, concentration pattern of platinum group of elements (PGE) used as unique markers of tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles is distorted from the crust in heavily trafficked areas, e.g., Texas. Evidence is also provided for transatlantic North African desert dust and its impact on mass and elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols during summers through detailed elemental analysis. Consequently, comprehensive characterization of airborne particulates for a wide range of elements will assist in identifying and apportioning various natural and anthropogenic sources. Our analytical method recently optimized for simultaneous measurement of three PGEs of Rh, Pd, and Pt, 14 lanthanoids, and numerous other trace- to major-elements will be briefly described in this presentation along with a summary of our measurements in source and receptor particulates in the greater Houston area. Our focus will be on road dust and airborne particulate matter, two important compartments of environmental PGEs, lanthanoids, and other anthropogenically polluted elements. Possible sources of primary particulate emissions and their contributions to PM2.5 mass concentrations in Houston air will also be summarized from source apportionment studies based on elementally characterized receptor data. Finally, compositional differences in ambient PM2.5 under the influence of different source emissions will be discussed using ternary diagrams and abundance pattern of lanthanoids.

Study of atmospheric aerosols by IBA techniques: The LABEC experience

Abstract At the 3 MV Tandetron accelerator of the LABEC laboratory of INFN (Florence, Italy) an external beam facility is fully dedicated to PIXE-PIGE measurements of the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols. All the elements with Z > 10 are simultaneously detected by PIXE typically in one minute. This setup allows us an easy automatic positioning, changing and scanning of samples collected by different kinds of devices: long series of daily PM (Particulate Matter) samples can be analysed in short times, as well as size-segregated and high time-resolution aerosol samples. Thanks to the capability of detecting all the crustal elements, PIXE-PIGE analyses are unrivalled in the study of mineral dust: consequently, they are very effective in the study of natural aerosols, like, for example, Saharan dust intrusions. Among the detectable elements there are also important markers of anthropogenic sources, which allow effective source apportionment studies in polluted urban environments using a multivariate method like Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). Examples regarding recent monitoring campaigns, performed in urban and remote areas, both daily and with high time resolution (hourly samples), as well as with size selection, are presented. The importance of the combined use of the Particle Induced Gamma Ray emission technique (PIGE) and of other complementary (non-nuclear) techniques is highlighted.

Continuous measurement of elemental composition of ambient aerosol by induction-coupled plasma mass spectrometry

There is presently no instrumentation that can provide (near) real time information on elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols. We describe an arrangement where air is sampled through a cyclone @30L/min with a 50% cutoff @ ~250nm. The particles deposit into a cup through which deionized water is continuously flowing. High purity HNO3 is added downstream and the mixed stream optionally flows through a quartz photo reactor (185nm, ~90°C, tR ~1.2min) and is aspirated by an induction coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Comparative batch experiments in which samples were not photodigested at all or thermally digested off-line for an extended period indicated no statistically significant difference in the results. This observation agrees with early theoretical and experimental work. Some 22 elements were quantifiable (S/N > 10) at all times in the aerosol samples collected in our highly urban sampling location; an additional 4 elements were quantifiable at times of construction activity in the general area. Presently attained system limits of detection (LODs) are orders of magnitude higher than the instrumental LOD, both because of the purity of the acid and pump-induced contamination. These aspects can be vastly improved and will need to be improved to determine background concentrations.

Seasonal Behaviours and Weekdays/Weekends Differences in Elemental Composition of Atmospheric Aerosols in Cairo, Egypt

The aim of the present study was to investigate the seasonal distributions and weekdays/weekends differences in ambient aerosols and their elemental contents in the atmosphere of the 15 May City, Egypt. Aerosol samples were collected from March 2009 to February 2010. The concentrations of 14 elements including Na, Mg, Ca, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr were measured by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The mean aerosols concentrations were 290 µg/m 3 (spring), 250 µg/m 3 (summer), 330 µg/m 3 (autumn) and 400 µg/m 3 (winter). The measured elements showed a strong seasonal variation; with the highest concentrations in winter and the lowest in summer. Na, Mg, Ca, K, Al and Fe were the dominant elements, followed by Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb. The minimum concentrations were noted for Co, Cd and Cr. The dominant elements in aerosol represented 94%, 94.51%, 94.61% and 94.28% from the total measured elements and 5.08%, 5.74%, 6.11% and 5.44% from aerosol mass during winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively. The aerosols concentrations on weekends were reduced by 31.25% in the winter and 15.2% in the summer. The concentrations of the measured elements were higher on weekdays than weekends. The weekday/weekend concentration ratios were 1.69 and 1.38 for total measured elements during winter and summer, respectively. The mean Ni and Cd levels were higher than the proposed WHO, USEPA and the European Community standards. Significant positive correlations were found between the concentrations of aerosols, Mg, Ca, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Co, Zn and Cr. The enrichment factors (EFs) and the non-crustal fractions of all elements indicated that Na, Mg, Ca, K, Fe and Mn originate mainly from soil sources, whereas Co, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr are mostly emitted in the atmosphere of 15 May City from anthropogenic sources.

A First Assessment of the Elemental Composition of Atmospheric Aerosols in the Canadian Oil Sands Region

Canadian Oil Sands, which comprise 97% of Canada's 176 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, are located beneath 140,200 km 2 of boreal forests, prairies and wetlands, and are the second largest known deposit of crude oil in the world. As such, this region has experienced rapid industrial development, which resulted also in increasing industrial air emissions, primarily from bitumen upgrading and mine vehicle fleet operations. This rapid development has led to concerns regarding health risk to humans, and other terrestrial and aquatic wildlife associated with exposure to toxic contaminants, especially metals and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) particularly along the Athabasca River and its watershed. Canada's Minister of the Environment announced that Environment Canada (EC) will jointly lead, in collaboration with Government of Alberta and relevant stakeholders, the development and implementation of an enhanced monitoring system in the Oil Sands region to provide information on the state of the air, water, land and biodiversity. This work presents preliminary data on the first assessment of elemental composition of fine particulate matter (particles<2.5 mm in diameter; PM2.5) at 3 air quality sites in close proximity to Oil Sands processing activities. Since December 2010, integrated 24 hour air samples were collected every sixth day on a 47-mm Teflon filters using Thermo Fisher Partisol 2000-FRM samplers operated by the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) network that involves EC and the Canadian provinces and territories. All samples including laboratory, travel and field blanks were subjected to gravimetric determination of PM2.5 mass and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) analysis for 46 elements. Since ED-XRF is a non-destructive technique, PM2.5 samples were subsequently analyzed for 37 trace elements including rare earth elements using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) combined with microwave-assisted acid digestion. The resulting data will be discussed.

Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence used to studying the migration of chemical elements in biogeochemical food chains

Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence makes it possible to determine the multielemental composition of atmospheric aerosols and other components of biogeochemical chains. From these data, a close interrelation between the concentration of elements in atmospheric aerosols and tissues (liver, bone tissues) of small mammals of the Central Urals and in tissues (hair, bone tissues) of wild animals of Gornyi Altai has been revealed by correlation analysis. A similar interrelation has been established for the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols and food, the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols, and other components of biogeocenosis (plants, mushrooms and soil). It is assumed that atmospheric aerosols play an important role in the global cycling of chemical elements.

Seasonal behaviours in elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols collected in Islamabad, Pakistan

Seasonal variations and sources of various elements in the atmospheric aerosols of the Islamabad were investigated by analysing 215 total suspended particulate (TSP) samples collected by using high volume air sampler from June 2005 to May 2006. The concentrations of seventeen elements including Ca, Na, Fe, K, Zn, Mg, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cr, Li, Cd and Ag were measured by AAS. All elements measured in the aerosols of Islamabad displayed a strong seasonal variation: average concentrations of Ca, Fe, Zn, Sr and Cr were highest in autumn, while, Na, K, Cu, Pb, Cd and Li mean levels were at maximum during winter. Mean concentrations of Mg, Mn, Ni, and Ag increased considerably during spring, but average Sb and Co peaked in summer. The quartile distributions of all the elements were also significantly diverse during the four seasons. The enrichment factors (EFs) of all elements (with reference to crustal Fe) indicate that Mg, Mn, Ca, Na and K are mainly from soil sources. The anthropogenic sources have a relatively higher contribution to Cu and Co compared with Ni, Cr, Sr and Li. Sb, Ag, Cd, Zn and Pb are predominantly from anthropogenic sources. Although TSP, Ca, Fe, Mg and Mn exhibited strong mutual correlations in all the seasons, the correlation study revealed significant seasonal variation among other trace elements. In addition, the meteorological parameters also revealed appreciably different seasonal correlations for the trace elements. Principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) indicated that the natural sources contributed about 30% of identified variance of measured elements in all samples and anthropogenic sources contributed about 45%, and these elements can be classified into three categories as follows: Fe, Mn, Mg and Ca represent the natural contribution; Na, K, Zn, Sr, Cr, Ni, Li and Co represent the input of mixed sources of soils and pollution; and Pb, Cd, Cu, Ag and Sb represent the pollution component.

A study on trace elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols at a semi-arid urban site using ICP-MS technique

A study has been carried out on trace elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols (PM 10) over a 1-year period i.e. from October 2001 to September 2002 at a semi-arid urban site, Tirupati, southern peninsular India. The samples were collected on paliflex filters with a frequency once a week using Mini-Partisol air sampler equipped with PM 10 inlet. Aerosol loaded filters were extracted by the hot extraction method and the elemental concentrations were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Detection limits were found to be in a sub-ppt range and the precision about <5% RSD with comparable levels of accuracy. ICP-MS results are in good agreement with the certified data (<20% RSD). Elemental composition of PM 10 showed a higher contribution of Fe followed by Mn and the lowest contribution of Be. Multivariate receptor model results (PC matrix) demonstrated that the trace elemental components of atmospheric aerosol were largely contributed from crustal material and road dust (69.41%), followed by metallurgical and other industrial processes (11.76%) and fuel oil combustion (6.52%). Regression models suggested the significant impact of meteorological factors on elemental concentration, which ranged between 14% and 53.6%. ANOVA results showed a clear trend of atmospheric levels of elements with variation in climatological conditions.

Size resolved mass concentration and elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols over the Eastern Mediterranean area

Abstract. A Berner low pressure impactor was used to collect size-segregated aerosol samples at Finokalia, located on the north-eastern coast of Crete, Greece during July 2000 and January 2001. Several samples were also collected during the summer campaign aboard the research vessel "AEGAIEO" in the Aegean Sea. Gravimetric analysis and inversion techniques yielded daily PM1 and PM10 mass concentrations. The samples were also analysed by PIXE giving the elemental size distributions of Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Sr, S, Cl, Ni, V, Cu, Cr, Zn, and Pb. The crustal elements and sea-salt had a unimodal supermicron size distribution. Sulphur was found predominantly in submicron fractions. K, V, and Ni exhibited a bimodal distribution with a submicron mode produced by forest fires and oil combustion. The anthropogenic elements had broad and not well-defined distributions. The time series for PM1 and PM10 mass and elemental concentrations showed both daily and seasonal variation. Higher mass concentrations were observed during two incursions of Saharan dust, whilst higher concentrations of S, Cu, Zn, and Pb were encountered in samples collected in air masses arriving from northern Greece or the western coast of Turkey. Elevated concentrations of chlorine were found in samples with air masses either originating above the Atlantic Ocean and arriving at Finokalia via western Europe or recirculating over the western coast of the Black Sea.

Elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols in Siberia

Elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols from different Siberian sites was determined by synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence analysis (SRXFA) and virtual impactor. The different sources of atmospheric aerosols in this region were studied using the principal factor analysis (PFA).

Synchrotron radiation technique for multielemental characterization of atmospheric aerosols in frames of interlaboratory experiment

An elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols varies between n% and n ppt making some problems for analytical provision of those investigations: synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescent analysis (SRXF) is the most suitable method. In the present paper, analysis of aerosols samples on Whatman-41 filters different analytical techniques have been applied: instrumental neutron activation analysis, synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence, atomic-absorption spectrometry and optical atomic-emission spectroscopy. Interlaboratory comparisons of analytical data have been used to estimate the true values for aerosol's elemental characterization. The results of statistical evaluation of data produced and SRXF method's possibilities and problems for the atmospheric aerosols analysis are discussed.

Upgrading of the PIXE system at ININ (Mexico) and report on elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols from 1990 in the ZMCM

A further upgrading of the PIXE system at ININ has been accomplished once some operational problems were overcome. Among these, the electronic noise picked up on the detector signal cables should be mentioned. This was drastically reduced using a technique suggested by the detector's manufacturer and a significant improvement in the signal to noise ratio was obtained. A detailed calibration was undertaken using spectroscopically pure thin foils of known areal density and a considerable improvement in the sensitivity of the system was achieved. Operating the upgraded system, aerosol samples were analyzed by PIXE and their elemental composition determined. The samples were collected one day of every week, from January to December 1990, on 0.4 μm Nuclepore filters using a single filter integral type sampler unit built at ININ. The sampling site is located in the west central part of the urban area of Mexico City (ZMCM). Temporal variations in elemental concentrations were obtained for elements ranging from sulphur to lead. Results presented in this paper complement a former two-year study of 1988 and 1989.

PIXE analysis of atmospheric aerosol and hydrometeor particles

Atmospheric aerosol and hydrometeor particles act decisively on our weather, climate and thereby on all living conditions on Earth. Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis has been demonstrated to be an extremely valuable tool for quantitative and qualitative elemental analysis of aerosol particles and hydrometeors. Reliability and detection limits of PIXE are determined, including comparison with other techniques. Aerosol particles are collected on a global scale in ground stations, or by ships and by planes. Correlation between wind direction and elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols, elemental particle size distributions of the tropospheric aerosol, aerosol elemental composition in particle size fractions in the case of long range transport, transport pathways of pollution aerosol, and trace element content precipitation are discussed. Hydrometeors were studied in the form of rain, snow, fog, dew and frost. The time dependence of the melting process of snow was studied in detail, in particular the washout phenomena of impurity ions.

Regional and background aerosol trace elemental composition observed in eastern Canada

Measurements of the trace elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols were undertaken at three rural locations in eastern Canada during the autumn of 1984. One aim was to investigate differences in anthropogenic elemental composition between aerosols of regional eastern North American origin and “background” aerosols in air masses moving into the region. Another aim was to identify the origin of aerosol trace elements with the use of air parcel back-trajectories, multivariate analysis, and lead isotope ratios.Daily aerosol samples taken at Dorset Ontario, For&amp; Montmorency Quebec, and Kejimkujik Nova Scotia, were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry for Ti, Br, Mn, In, Na, V, Al, Ca, Se, As, Sb, Pb, Cd, and Pb-206/207 isotope ratios. Average concentrations of Na and V showed the greatest regional diversity and were 8.0 and 5.4 times higher at Kejimkujik than at Dorset, respectively. Factor analysis revealed the presence of a soil, a marine, and a general pollution component in the aerosols, plus additional components specific for a few elements of anthropogenic origin. Cornparison of mean concentrations in samples grouped by similarity of the associated back-trajectories showed that In and As were excellent tracers of non-ferrous smelter emissions. Trajectories from prominent coal-burning areas were also enriched in As but were associated with low In concentrations.Groups of trajectories originating from background areas, i.e., without major anthropogenic sources of aerosols, formed a significant fraction of the samples and accounted for 20%-25% of the classified aerosol samples at each site. Comparison of the mean concentrations in the background groups with each other and with similar aerosol data from the Arctic showed that both local influences, such as the composition of soils in the immediate area, and long-range transport of aerosols can affect the apparent local composition of the background aerosol.Using recent findings by Sturges and Barrie that there is a significant difference between the Pb isotope ratio in aerosols from smelters, Canadian auto exhaust and American sources, the fraction of Pb originating from each source was estimated for each location. During the 3-month period studied, it is estimated that Pb from automotive emissions in the US accounted for 46%, 28%, and 44% of the atmospheric Pb at Dorset, For&amp; Montmorency, and Kejimkujik, respectively, versus 52%, 67%, and 51% from Canadian auto exhaust.

Elemental constituents of atmospheric aerosols in recife, North-East Brazil

Few data are available on the inorganic atmospheric pollution in the rapidly expanding cities of South America, like Recife, on the Atlantic Coast of North-east Brazil. Therefore, the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols was investigated for nine sites in the Recife conurbation and a fairly remote site in the area. Total aerosol samples were collected on cellulose filters for analysis by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and cascade impactors were used to collect the aerosols as a function of particle size for subsequent analysis by proton-induced X-ray emission. Local soil aliquots were also analysed. About eighteen elements were quantified in all cases. The average total atmospheric concentrations appeared to be well above natural levels but usually lower than, or comparable with, those of North American and European cities. Dispersal of sea spray and of local soil (often contaminated with, for example, Cu, Zn and Pb from industrial sources) contributes predominantly to the total atmospheric load in Recife. However, the particle size fraction results also indicated strong excesses in the small particle mode for S, K, V, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br and Pb, mainly in the downtown area. Again, the corresponding enrichment factors were only moderate in comparison with other published urban data.

Time dependence of the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols over a time period of 12 years

Proton-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) has been used for the elemental analysis of atmospheric aerosol-loaded filter samples, collected over a time period of 12 years in Frankfurt/Main, to get an overview on the temporal evolution of anthropogenic components in the atmosphere. The filter samples, originally not being collected for the purpose of PIXE studies, allowed, however, the quantitative analysis of such elements as S, K, Zn, Br and Pb. For the analysed zero-precipitation/high-pressure conditions a pronounced decrease of up to 11% per year of the emission-rate for all studied elements could be determined.

Temporal and spatial differences in the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols

Proton induced X-ray emission has been applied to the analysis of various elements in 250 aerosol loaded filter samples collected daily over a period of up to 3 months at different sites: (1) city-center; (2) residential area; (3) recreation area 20 km off city; and (4) remote alpine resort areas. The time dependence of different element concentrations shows high correlation with meteorological parameters. The average concentration ratio between site 1 and site 4 amounts up to 100.

Elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols over the time period 1966 through 1978

Elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols over the time period 1966 through 1978

Test of x-ray fluorescence spectrometry as a method for analysis of the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTTest of x-ray fluorescence spectrometry as a method for analysis of the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosolsR. H. Hammerle, R. H. Marsh, K. Rengan, R. D. Giauque, and J. M. JaklevicCite this: Anal. Chem. 1973, 45, 11, 1939–1940Publication Date (Print):September 1, 1973Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 September 1973https://doi.org/10.1021/ac60333a049RIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views46Altmetric-Citations9LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (238 KB) Get e-Alerts Get e-Alerts