Carbonaceous aerosols in Norwegian urban areas

Little is known regarding levels and source strength of carbonaceous aerosols in Scandinavia. In the present study, ambient aerosol (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations of elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), water-insoluble organic carbon (WINSOC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) are reported for a curbside site, an urban background site, and a suburban site in Norway in order to investigate their spatial and seasonal variations. Aerosol filter samples were collected using tandem filter sampling to correct for the positive sampling artefact introduced by volatile and semivolatile OC. Analyses were performed using the thermal optical transmission (TOT) instrument from Sunset Lab Inc., which corrects for charring during analysis. Finally, we estimated the relative contribution of OC from wood burning based on the samples content of levoglucosan. Levels of EC varied by more than one order of magnitude between sites, likely due to the higher impact of vehicular traffic at the curbside and the urban background sites. In winter, the level of particulate organic carbon (OCp) at the suburban site was equal to (for PM10) or even higher (for PM2.5) than the levels observed at the curbside and the urban background sites. This finding was attributed to the impact of residential wood burning at the suburban site in winter, which was confirmed by a high mean concentration of levoglucosan (407 ng m(-3)). This finding indicates that exposure to primary combustion derived OCp could be equally high in residential areas as in a city center. It is demonstrated that OCp from wood burning (OCwood) accounted for almost all OCp at the suburban site in winter, allowing a new estimate of the ratio TCp/levoglucosan for both PM10 and PM2.5. Particulate carbonaceous material (PCM=Organic matter+Elemental matter) accounted for 46-83% of PM10 at the sites studied, thus being the major fraction.

[1]  Barbara J. Turpin,et al.  Measuring and simulating particulate organics in the atmosphere: problems and prospects , 2000 .

[2]  Sheldon Landsberger,et al.  Characterization of the Gent Stacked Filter Unit PM10 Sampler , 1997 .

[3]  G. Kiss,et al.  Characterization of water-soluble organic matter isolated from atmospheric fine aerosol , 2002 .

[4]  B. Zielińska,et al.  Emissions of levoglucosan, methoxy phenols, and organic acids from prescribed burns, laboratory combustion of wildland fuels, and residential wood combustion. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[5]  Howard Frumkin,et al.  Ambient Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Emergency Department Visits , 2004, Epidemiology.

[6]  Kaarle Kupiainen,et al.  Modeling carbonaceous aerosol over Europe: Analysis of the CARBOSOL and EMEP EC/OC campaigns , 2007 .

[7]  Hans-Christen Hansson,et al.  Inorganic, organic and macromolecular components of fine aerosol in different areas of Europe in relation to their water solubility , 1999 .

[8]  J. Penner,et al.  Large contribution of organic aerosols to cloud-condensation-nuclei concentrations , 1993, Nature.

[9]  A. Frey,et al.  European Geosciences Union Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Organic, elemental and inorganic carbon in particulate matter of six urban environments in Europe , 2005 .

[10]  Barbara J. Turpin,et al.  Species Contributions to PM2.5 Mass Concentrations: Revisiting Common Assumptions for Estimating Organic Mass , 2001 .

[11]  Allen L. Robinson,et al.  Positive and Negative Artifacts in Particulate Organic Carbon Measurements with Denuded and Undenuded Sampler Configurations Special Issue of Aerosol Science and Technology on Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program , 2004 .

[12]  R. Hillamo,et al.  Two years of continuous aerosol measurements in northern Finland , 2002 .

[13]  William C. Malm,et al.  Spatial and monthly trends in speciated fine particle concentration in the United States , 2004 .

[14]  K. Kawamura,et al.  Motor exhaust emissions as a primary source for dicarboxylic acids in Los Angeles ambient air , 1987 .

[15]  Y. Rudich,et al.  Detection and quantification of levoglucosan in atmospheric aerosols: a review , 2006, Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.

[16]  M. Claeys,et al.  Improved method for quantifying levoglucosan and related monosaccharide anhydrides in atmospheric aerosols and application to samples from urban and tropical locations. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[17]  Hélène Cachier,et al.  Characterisation of fresh particulate vehicular exhausts near a Paris high flow road , 2001 .

[18]  Organic compounds in biomass smoke from residential wood combustion: Emissions characterization at a continental scale , 2002 .

[19]  Christer Johansson,et al.  Is Levoglucosan a Suitable Quantitative Tracer for Wood Burning? Comparison with Receptor Modeling on Trace Elements in Lycksele, Sweden , 2006, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[20]  Thomas W. Kirchstetter,et al.  Laboratory and field investigation of the adsorption of gaseous organic compounds onto quartz filters , 2001 .

[21]  T. Petäjä,et al.  Size distributions, sources and source areas of water-soluble organic carbon in urban background air , 2008 .

[22]  Leiv Håvard Slørdal,et al.  Quantification of Monosaccharide Anhydrides by Liquid Chromatography Combined with Mass Spectrometry: Application to Aerosol Samples from an Urban and a Suburban Site Influenced by Small-Scale Wood Burning , 2005, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[23]  Hilkka Timonen,et al.  Sources of organic carbon in fine particulate matter in northern European urban air , 2008 .

[24]  S. Pandis,et al.  A study of the ability of pure secondary organic aerosol to act as cloud condensation nuclei , 1997 .

[25]  Peter Wåhlin,et al.  A European aerosol phenomenology—1: physical characteristics of particulate matter at kerbside, urban, rural and background sites in Europe , 2004 .

[26]  A. Stohl,et al.  Arctic smoke – record high air pollution levels in the European Arctic due to agricultural fires in Eastern Europe in spring 2006 , 2006 .

[27]  Risto Hillamo,et al.  Organic and black carbon in PM2.5 and PM10: 1 year of data from an urban site in Helsinki, Finland , 2002 .

[28]  Masataka Shiobara,et al.  Arctic smoke record high air pollution levels in the European Arctic due to agricultural fires in Eastern Europe , 2006 .

[29]  Christopher G. Nolte,et al.  Levoglucosan, a tracer for cellulose in biomass burning and atmospheric particles , 1999 .

[30]  G R Cass,et al.  Measurement of emissions from air pollution sources. 3. C1-C29 organic compounds from fireplace combustion of wood. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[31]  R. Cary,et al.  Elemental Carbon-Based Method for Monitoring Occupational Exposures to Particulate Diesel Exhaust , 1996 .

[32]  J. Seinfeld,et al.  Molecular composition of the water-soluble fraction of atmospheric carbonaceous aerosols collected during ACE-Asia: ACE-ASIA CARBONACEOUS AEROSOLS , 2004 .

[33]  G. Kiss,et al.  Ambient aerosol concentrations of sugars and sugar-alcohols at four different sites in Norway , 2007 .

[34]  J. Chow,et al.  Reference Material 8785: Air Particulate Matter on Filter Media , 2005 .

[35]  J. Huntzicker,et al.  Vapor adsorption artifact in the sampling of organic aerosol: Face velocity effects , 1986 .

[36]  Alexandre Caseiro,et al.  Chemical characterisation of fine particle emissions from wood stove combustion of common woods growing in mid-European Alpine regions , 2008 .

[37]  Alexandre Caseiro,et al.  Source apportionment of PM2.5 organic aerosol over Europe: Primary/secondary, natural/anthropogenic, and fossil/biogenic origin , 2007 .

[38]  M. Facchini,et al.  Water‐soluble organic compounds in biomass burning aerosols over Amazonia 1. Characterization by NMR and GC‐MS , 2002 .

[39]  Sönke Szidat,et al.  Comparison of several wood smoke markers and source apportionment methods for wood burning particulate mass , 2008 .

[40]  G. Cass,et al.  Characteristics of atmospheric organic and elemental carbon particle concentrations in Los Angeles. , 1986, Environmental science & technology.

[41]  C. Corrigan,et al.  Cloud condensation nucleus activity of the organic component of biomass smoke particles , 1996 .

[42]  J. Schauer,et al.  Highly polar organic compounds present in wood smoke and in the ambient atmosphere. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[43]  Ari Karppinen,et al.  Chemical composition of aerosols during a major biomass burning episode over northern Europe in spring 2006: Experimental and modelling assessments , 2007 .

[44]  Bert Brunekreef,et al.  Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study , 2002, The Lancet.

[45]  Barbara J. Turpin,et al.  Investigation of organic aerosol sampling artifacts in the los angeles basin , 1994 .

[46]  F. Palmgren,et al.  Impact of wood combustion on particle levels in a residential area in Denmark , 2006 .

[47]  N Künzli,et al.  Public-health impact of outdoor and traffic-related air pollution: a European assessment , 2000, The Lancet.

[48]  K. Yttri,et al.  Determination of monosaccharide anhydrides in atmospheric aerosols by use of high-performance liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry. , 2005, Analytical chemistry.

[49]  Erik Swietlicki,et al.  Organic aerosol and global climate modelling: a review , 2004 .

[50]  Barbara Zielinska,et al.  Relationship between Composition and Toxicity of Motor Vehicle Emission Samples , 2004, Environmental health perspectives.

[51]  Roy M. Harrison,et al.  Carbonaceous aerosol in urban and rural European atmospheres: estimation of secondary organic carbon concentrations , 1999 .

[52]  Christopher A. Cantrell,et al.  Technical Note: Review of methods for linear least-squares fitting of data and application to atmospheric chemistry problems , 2008 .

[53]  Alexandre Caseiro,et al.  Levoglucosan levels at background sites in Europe for assessing the impact of biomass combustion on the European aerosol background , 2007 .

[54]  K. Kawamura,et al.  Seasonal changes in the distribution of dicarboxylic acids in the urban atmosphere , 1993 .

[55]  D. Ceburnis,et al.  Elemental and organic carbon in PM 10 : a one year measurement campaign within the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme , 2007 .

[56]  G. Cass,et al.  Chemical Characterization of Fine Particle Emissions from the Fireplace Combustion of Wood Types Grown in the Midwestern and Western United States , 2004 .

[57]  H. Hansson,et al.  Comparative Health Impact Assessment of Local and Regional Particulate Air Pollutants in Scandinavia , 2005, Ambio.

[58]  G R Cass,et al.  Chemical characterization of fine particle emissions from fireplace combustion of woods grown in the northeastern United States. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[59]  Glen R. Cass,et al.  Chemical Characterization of Fine Particle Emissions from Fireplace Combustion of Woods Grown in the Northeastern United States , 2001 .