Chemical characterization of submicron Aerosol particles in Santiago de Chile

High time resolution chemical characterization of submicron particles was carried out in the South American city of Santiago de Chile using the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). The instrumentation operated for 100 days from August 17 th to November 23 rd 2011 in an urban station located inside the University of Santiago de Chile (USACH) campus. In addition, a semi-continuous OC/EC analyzer was also run in parallel with the ACSM for some of this time. Meteorological conditions varied along the studied period due to the transition from winter to spring time. Atmospheric temperature inversions were responsible for hourly average sub-micron particulate matter levels of up to 80 μg/m 3 , especially during the night time. The average submicron particle mass concentration (± standard deviation) for the whole period was 29.8 ± 25 μg/m 3 . Aerosol particles were composed mainly of organics 59%, followed by nitrate, ammonium, sulfate, black carbon and chloride with contributions of 14, 12, 8, 3 and 3%, respectively. Using positive matrix factorization, the organic fraction was divided into four distinct types of organic aerosol representing fresh automobile exhaust, biomass burning, and two oxygenated organic aerosol factors with different oxidation states. The transition from winter to spring was clearly seen in the composition of OA. The emissions from primary sources, such as vehicle and biomass burning, decreased in the period leading to spring, whereas the amount of oxygenated organic aerosol increased over the same time. This study shows that high time resolution measurements of aerosol chemical composition can lead to better characterizations of the evolution and sources of pollutants in an urban atmosphere.

[1]  J. Jayne,et al.  Characterization of summer organic and inorganic aerosols in Beijing, China with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor , 2012 .

[2]  J. Jimenez,et al.  Evaluation of Composition-Dependent Collection Efficiencies for the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer using Field Data , 2012 .

[3]  J. Peñuelas,et al.  Identification and quantification of organic aerosol from cooking and other sources in Barcelona using aerosol mass spectrometer data , 2011 .

[4]  Qi Zhang,et al.  An Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) for Routine Monitoring of the Composition and Mass Concentrations of Ambient Aerosol , 2011 .

[5]  P. Oyola,et al.  Modification in the Soil and Traffic-Related Sources of Particle Matter between 1998 and 2007 in Santiago de Chile , 2010, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[6]  John H. Seinfeld,et al.  Organic aerosol components observed in Northern Hemispheric datasets from Aerosol Mass Spectrometry , 2010 .

[7]  D. R. Worsnop,et al.  Evolution of Organic Aerosols in the Atmosphere , 2009, Science.

[8]  James D. Lee,et al.  Contributions from transport, solid fuel burning and cooking to primary organic aerosols in two UK cities , 2009 .

[9]  R. Seguel,et al.  Estimations of primary and secondary organic carbon formation in PM2.5 aerosols of Santiago City, Chile , 2009 .

[10]  Michael Hannigan,et al.  Characterization of primary organic aerosol emissions from meat cooking, trash burning, and motor vehicles with high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry and comparison with ambient and chamber observations. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[11]  Edward Charles Fortner,et al.  Mexico City Aerosol Analysis during MILAGRO using High Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometry , 2009 .

[12]  T. Onasch,et al.  Collection Efficiencies in an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer as a Function of Particle Phase for Laboratory Generated Aerosols , 2008 .

[13]  J. Jimenez,et al.  Interpretation of organic components from Positive Matrix Factorization of aerosol mass spectrometric data , 2008 .

[14]  P. Koutrakis,et al.  Trends in the Elemental Composition of Fine Particulate Matter in Santiago, Chile, from 1998 to 2003 , 2007, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[15]  Christoph Hueglin,et al.  Source apportionment of submicron organic aerosols at an urban site by factor analytical modelling of aerosol mass spectra , 2007 .

[16]  C E Kolb,et al.  Guest Editor: Albert Viggiano CHEMICAL AND MICROPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF AMBIENT AEROSOLS WITH THE AERODYNE AEROSOL MASS SPECTROMETER , 2022 .

[17]  A. Stohl,et al.  Impacts of sources and aging on submicrometer aerosol properties in the marine boundary layer across the Gulf of Maine , 2006 .

[18]  Pedro Oyola,et al.  Examination of pollution trends in Santiago de Chile with cluster analysis of PM10 and Ozone data , 2006 .

[19]  Qi Zhang,et al.  Deconvolution and quantification of hydrocarbon-like and oxygenated organic aerosols based on aerosol mass spectrometry. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  H. Jorquera,et al.  Trends in air quality and population exposure in Santiago, Chile, 1989-2001 , 2004 .

[21]  J. Jimenez,et al.  Characterization of urban and rural organic particulate in the Lower Fraser Valley using two Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometers , 2004 .

[22]  Charles E. Kolb,et al.  Chase Studies of Particulate Emissions from in-use New York City Vehicles , 2004 .

[23]  J. Seinfeld,et al.  ACE-Asia intercomparison of a thermal-optical method for the determination of particle-phase organic and elemental carbon. , 2003, Environmental science & technology.

[24]  P. Paatero,et al.  Positive matrix factorization: A non-negative factor model with optimal utilization of error estimates of data values† , 1994 .

[25]  G. Cass,et al.  Los Angeles Summer Midday Particulate Carbon: Primary and Secondary Aerosol , 1991 .