Long term measurements of submicrometer urban aerosols: statistical analysis for correlations with meteorological conditions and trace gases

Long-term measurements (over 4 years) of par- ticle number size distributions (submicrometer particles, 3- 800 nm in diameter), trace gases (NO, NO2, and O3), and meteorological parameters (global radiation, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, etc.) were taken in a mod- erately polluted site in the city of Leipzig (Germany). The resulting complex data set was analyzed with respect to sea- sonal, weekly, and diurnal variation of the submicrometer aerosol. Car traffic produced a peak in the number size dis- tribution at around 20 nm particle diameter during morning rush hour on weekdays. A second peak at 10-15 nm particle diameter occurred around noon during summer, confirmed by high correlation between concentration of particles less than 20 nm and the global radiation. This new-particle for- mation at noon was correlated with the amount of global radi- ation. A high concentration of accumulation mode particles (between 100 and 800 nm), which are associated with large particle-surface area, might prevent this formation. Such high particle concentration in the ultrafine region (particles smaller than 20 nm in diameter) was not detected in the parti- cle mass, and thus, particle mass concentration is not suitable for determining the diurnal patterns of particles. In summer, statistical time series analysis showed a cyclic pattern of ul- trafine particles with a period of one day and confirmed the correlation with global radiation. Principal component anal- ysis (PCA) revealed a strong correlation between the parti- cle concentration for 20-800 nm particles and the NO- and NO2-concentrations, indicating the influence of combustion processes on this broad size range, in particular during win- ter. In addition, PCA also revealed that particle concentration depended on meteorological conditions such as wind speed and wind direction, although the dependence differed with particle size class.

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