Molecular markers for fungal spores and biogenic SOA over the Antarctic Peninsula: Field measurements and modeling results.

Biogenic organic aerosols are important components of atmospheric organic aerosols and play vital roles in atmospheric chemistry, global climate, and biogeochemical cycles of carbon. However, studies on biogenic organic aerosols in the vast regions of the Southern Ocean and over the coastal waters of the Antarctic, especially Antarctic Peninsula, are still extremely limited. To understand the concentrations, molecular composition and seasonality of biogenic organic aerosols in Antarctica, atmospheric aerosols were collected at the Palmer Station on the west Antarctic Peninsula experiencing dramatic climate warming. Molecular marker compounds of fungal spores and secondary organic aerosols formed from the photooxidation of isoprene and monoterpene were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Concentrations of sugar alcohols and biogenic SOA tracers both presented seasonal patterns with higher average concentrations in summer (90.7 and 122 pg m-3) than in winter (8.88 and 57.2 pg m-3). Sugar alcohols and biogenic SOA tracers were predominated by mannitol and isoprene oxidation products. Relative contributions of fungal-spore organic carbon (OC), isoprene-derived secondary OC (SOC) and monoterpene-derived SOC estimated with tracer-based methods were 26.2%, 55.6% and 18.2%, respectively. The observed seasonality of total biogenic SOA and some molecular species at the Antarctic Peninsula was further supported by the results from the global model CESM/IMPACT. Model results also suggest higher biogenic SOA in East Antarctica than that in West Antarctica, which is attributed to the influence of vertical atmospheric circulation. Our results of air-mass trajectory indicate the potential influence of marine emissions on the biogenic organic aerosols over the Antarctic Peninsula.

High daytime abundance of primary organic aerosols over Mt. Emei, Southwest China in summer.

Organic molecular composition of fine aerosols in the free troposphere is poorly understood. Here, PM2.5 (particles with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 2.5 µm) samples were collected at the summit of Mt. Emei (3080 m a.s.l.) in the Southwestern China on a daytime and nighttime basis during summer 2016 (June-July). The samples were analyzed by solvent-extraction followed by derivatization and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Four classes of organic compounds, i.e. n-alkanes, fatty acids, saccharides and lignin/resin acids were measured quantitatively. Fatty acids were found to be the most abundant species with an average concentration of 401 ±â€¯419 ng m-3 (range 25.7-1490 ng m-3) in the daytime, similar to the average concentration at night (399 ±â€¯447 ng m-3, 19.6-1970 ng m-3). However, the concentrations of biomass burning tracers (e.g., levoglucosan), primary biological aerosol tracers (e.g., mannitol and arabitol) and low molecular weight n-alkanes derived from fossil fuel combustion in daytime samples were obviously higher than those in nighttime samples. The results suggest that valley breezes transported a large number of aerosols and their precursors from the ground surface to the summit of Mt. Emei in the daytime. Estimated with tracer-based methods, the contributions of biogenic primary sources (plant debris, fungal spore, and biomass burning) to organic carbon was in the range of 3.28-83.5% (22.0 ±â€¯17.5%) in the daytime and 3.45-37.4% (10.9 ±â€¯8.97%) at night. As the largest contributor, biomass burning was an important anthropogenic/natural source of aerosol particles in the free troposphere over Mt. Emei. CAPSULE: Valley/mountain breeze is an important constraint to the temporal variations in organic aerosols over Mt. Emei.

Evolution of aerosol chemistry in Xi'an during the spring dust storm periods: Implications for heterogeneous formation of secondary organic aerosols on the dust surface.

TSP and 9-stage size-segregated samples were simultaneously collected in Xi'an during the spring of 2013 and analyzed for organic aerosols (OA) on a molecular level. n-Alkanes were the dominant compound class during the whole campaign, followed by fatty acids. High molecular weight (HMW) n-alkanes and fatty acids dominated in the coarse mode particles (>1.1 µm) during the dust event, indicating they were mostly originated from surface soil and plants in the upwind regions. Low-volatile anthropogenic compounds such as benzo(e)pyrene (BeP) and bisphenol A (BPA) dominated in the fine mode particles during the whole campaign. In contrast, semi-volatile anthropogenic compounds such as phenanthrene (Phe) and di-n-butyl phthalates (DBP) showed a bimodal size distribution with a significant increase in the coarse mode during the dust event due to their vaporization from the fine mode particles and the subsequent adsorption on the dust surface. Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in Xi'an during the dust storm period were predominantly enriched on the coarse particles, which can be ascribed to the adsorption and subsequent oxidation of gas-phase hydrophilic organics on the aqueous-phase of hygroscopic dust surface (e.g., mirabilite). Our work suggested an important role of multiphase reaction in evolution of aerosol chemistry during the dust long-range transport process.

Primary biogenic and anthropogenic sources of organic aerosols in Beijing, China: Insights from saccharides and n-alkanes.

Sugars and n-alkanes are important organic constituents of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5). For better understanding their sources and seasonal variations in urban atmosphere, sugar compounds (anhydrosugars, sugars and sugar alcohols) and homologue n-alkanes (C18-C37) were studied in PM2.5 samples collected from September 2013 to July 2014 in Beijing, China. In general, all measured compounds showed the lowest levels in summer. Higher concentrations of sugar compounds and n-alkanes were observed in winter, probably due to elevated combustion emissions (e.g., coal, biofuel and agricultural residue burning) and stable meteorological conditions during heating season. Levoglucosan was the major sugar species in all seasons particularly in autumn and winter, highlighting the significant contribution of biomass burning to fine organic aerosols throughout the whole year especially in cold seasons. Plant waxes contributed to n-alkanes the most in late spring (54.5%) and the least in winter (11.6%); while fossil fuel combustion had the largest contribution in winter (385 ng m-3). The weak odd-carbon predominance of n-alkanes in wintertime aerosols also suggests fossil fuel combustion as the important source of organic aerosols in the heating season. Soil resuspension, fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, and secondary sources are the main sources of OC in PM2.5 at Beijing. The seasonal variation in source contributions indicates that meteorological condition is a key factor in controlling PM2.5 levels. Furthermore, dust storms in spring can strongly enhance the atmospheric level of fine organic matter in Beijing.

Primary particulate emissions and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from idling diesel vehicle exhaust in China.

In China diesel vehicles dominate the primary emission of particulate matters from on-road vehicles, and they might also contribute substantially to the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). In this study tailpipe exhaust of three typical in-use diesel vehicles under warm idling conditions was introduced directly into an indoor smog chamber with a 30m3 Teflon reactor to characterize primary emissions and SOA formation during photo-oxidation. The emission factors of primary organic aerosol (POA) and black carbon (BC) for the three types of Chinese diesel vehicles ranged 0.18-0.91 and 0.15-0.51gkg-fuel-1, respectively; and the SOA production factors ranged 0.50-1.8gkg-fuel-1 and SOA/POA ratios ranged 0.7-3.7 with an average of 2.2. The fuel-based POA emission factors and SOA production factors from this study for idling diesel vehicle exhaust were 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than those reported in previous studies for idling gasoline vehicle exhaust. The emission factors for total particle numbers were 0.65-4.0×1015particleskg-fuel-1, and particles with diameters less than 50nm dominated in total particle numbers. Traditional C2-C12 precursor non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) could only explain less than 3% of the SOA formed during aging and contribution from other precursors including intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOC) needs further investigation.

Identification of the sources of primary organic aerosols at urban schools: a molecular marker approach.

Children are particularly susceptible to air pollution and schools are examples of urban microenvironments that can account for a large portion of children's exposure to airborne particles. Thus this paper aimed to determine the sources of primary airborne particles that children are exposed to at school by analyzing selected organic molecular markers at 11 urban schools in Brisbane, Australia. Positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources at the schools: vehicle emissions, biomass burning, meat cooking and plant wax emissions accounting for 45%, 29%, 16% and 7%, of the organic carbon respectively. Biomass burning peaked in winter due to prescribed burning of bushland around Brisbane. Overall, the results indicated that both local (traffic) and regional (biomass burning) sources of primary organic aerosols influence the levels of ambient particles that children are exposed at the schools. These results have implications for potential control strategies for mitigating exposure at schools.