Seasonal variation of atmospheric elemental carbon aerosols at Zhongshan Station,East Antarctica

Elemental carbon(or black carbon)(EC or BC)aerosols emitted by biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion could cause notable climate forcing.Southern Hemisphere biomass burning emissions have contributed substantially to EC deposition in Antarctica.Here,we present the seasonal variation of EC determined from aerosol samples acquired at Zhongshan Station(ZSS),East Antarctica.The concentration of EC in the atmosphere varied between 0.02 and 257.81 ng·m^(-3)with a mean value of 44.87±48.92 ng·m^(-3).The concentration of EC aerosols reached its peak in winter(59.04 ng·m^(-3))and was lowest(27.26 ng·m^(-3))in summer.Back trajectory analysis showed that biomass burning in southern South America was the major source of the EC found at ZSS,although some of it was derived from southern Australia,especially during winter.The 2019–2020 Australian bush fires had some influence on EC deposition at ZSS,especially during 2019,but the contribution diminished in 2020,leaving southern South America as the dominant source of EC.

Pollution characteristics of organic and elemental carbon in PM_(2.5) in Xiamen,China

Xiamen, located on the southeastern coastal line of China, is undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization, so its air quality has a trend of degradation. However, studies on level, temporal and spatial changes of fine particles （PM2.5） and their carbonaceous fractions are scarce. In this article, abundance, sources, seasonal and spatial variations, distribution of organic carbon （OC） and elemental carbon （EC） in PM2.5, were studied at suburban, urban and industrial sites in Xiamen during four season-representative months in 2009-2010. PM2.5 samples were collected with middle volume sampler and were analyzed for OC and EC with thermal optical transmittance （TOT） method. Results showed that the annual average PM2.5 concentrations were 63.88-74.80 Ixg/m3 at three sites. While OC and EC concentrations were in the range of 15.81-19.73 [xg/m3 and 2.74-3.49 ~tg/m3, respectively, and clearly presented the summer minima and winter maxima in this study. The carbonaceous aerosol accounted for 42.8%-47.3% of the mass of PMzs. The annual average of secondary organic carbon （SOC） concentrations in Xiamen were 9.23-11.36 ~g/m3, accounting for approximately 56% of OC. Strong correlations between OC and EC was found in spring （R2 = 0.50） and autumn （R2 = 0.73）, suggesting that there were similar emission and transport processes for carbonaceous aerosols in these two seasons, while weak correlations were found in summer （R2 = 0.33） and winter （R2 = 0.41）. The OCI＇EC ratios in PM2.5 varied from 2.1 to 8.7 with an annual average of 5.7, indicating that vehicle exhaust, coal smoke and biomass burning were main source apportionments of carbonaceous fractions in Xiamen.

Characteristics of elemental carbon and organic carbon in PM_(10) during spring and autumn in Chongqing,China

PM10 （particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm） samples were collected simultaneously at nine urban sites and one urban background site during two intensive observation campaigns in 2006. Concentrations of elemental carbon （EC） and organic carbon （OC） in PM10 were analyzed using an element analyzer. The characteristics regarding spatial and seasonal distribution patterns of OC and EC concentrations and their contributions to PM10 mass, as well as correlation between OC and EC, were investigated in detail. The average OC and EC concentrations for urban sites were 57.5 ± 20.8 and 8.3 ± 3.9 μg/m^3, respectively, both being around three times higher than those for urban background site. As a whole, EC concentrations did not show distinct seasonal variations, though OC concentrations were generally higher in autumn than in spring. For urban sites, total carbonaceous aerosol （TCA） accounted for 33.2% in spring and 35.0% in autumn of PM10 mass. The OC and EC concentrations were found significantly correlated to each other both in spring and in autumn, implying the existence of similar emission sources such as coal combustion. The OC/EC ratios generally exceeded 2.0, indicating the presence of secondary organic carbon （SOC）, whose estimated concentration for urban Chongqing was 26.7 and 39.4μg/m^3, accounting for 48.9 and 61.9% of the total OC observed in the samples, in spring and in autumn, respectively.

Characteristics of organic and elemental carbon in atmospheric fine particles in Tianjin,China

PM2.5 samples were collected at urban, industrial and coastal sites in Tianjin during winter, spring and summer in 2007. Concentrations of elemental carbon （EC） and organic carbon （OC） were analyzed using the IMPROVE thermal-optical reflectance （TOR） method. Both OC and EC exhibited a clear seasonal pattern with higher concentrations observed in the winter than in the spring and summer, due to cooperative effect of changes in emission rates and seasonal meteorology. The concentrations of carbonaceous species were also influenced by the local factors at different sampling sites, ranking in the order of industrial〉 urban 〉 coastal during winter and spring. In the summer, the port emissions, enriched with EC, had a significant impact on carbonaceous aerosols at the coastal site. Total carbonaceous aerosol accounted for 40.0% in winter, 33.8% in spring and 31.4% in summer of PM2.5 mass. Good correlation （R = 0.84-0.93） between OC and EC indicated that they had common dominant sources of combustion such as coal burning and traffic emissions. The daily average OC/EC ratios ranged from 2.1 to 9.1, the elevated OC/EC ratios being found in the winter. The estimated secondary organic carbon （SOC） accounted for 46.9%, 35.3% and 40.2% of the total OC in the winter, spring and summer, respectively, indicating that SOC may be an important contributor to fine organic aerosol in Tianjin.

Particle-bound organic and elemental carbons for source identification of PM<0.1μm from biomass combustion

Atmospheric nanoparticles(PM<0.1μm)are a major cause of environmental problems and also affect health risk.To control and reduce these problems,sources identification of atmospheric particulates is necessary.Combustion of bituminous coal and biomass includ-ing rubber wood,palm kernel,palm fiber,rice stubble,rice straw,maize residue,sugarcane leaves and sugarcane bagasse,which are considered as sources of air quality problems in many countries,was performed.Emissions of particle-bound chemical components includ-ing organic carbon(OC),elemental carbon(EC),water-soluble ions(NH4^(+),Cl^(-),NO_(3)^(-),SO_(4)^(2-)),elements(Ca,K,Mg,Na)and heavy metals(Cd,Cr,Ni,Pb)were investigated.The results re-vealed that PM<0.1μm from all samples was dominated by the OC component(>50%)with minor contribution from EC(3%-12%).The higher fraction of carbonaceous components was found in the particulates with smaller sizes,and lignin content may relate to concentration of pyrolyzed organic carbon(PyOC)resulting in the differences of OC/EC values.PM emit-ted from burning palm fiber and rice stubble showed high values of OC/EC and also high PyOC.Non-carbonaceous components such as Cl^(-),Cr,Ca,Cd,Ni,Na and Mg may be useful as source indicators,but they did not show any correlation with the size of PM.

Emission of organic carbon, elemental carbon and water-soluble ions from crop straw burning under flaming and smoldering conditions

Emissions from major agricultural residues were measured using a self-designed combustion system. Emission factors （EFs） of organic carbon （OC）, elemental carbon （EC）, and water-soluble ions （WSIs） （K＋, NH4＋, Na＋, Mg2＋, Ca2＋, Cl-, NO3-, SO42–） in smoke from wheat and rice straw were measured under flaming and smoldering conditions. The OC1/TC （total carbon） was highest （45.8% flaming, 57.7% smoldering） among carbon fractions. The mean EFs for OC （EFOC） and EC （EFEC） were 9.2 ± 3.9 and 2.2 ± 0.7 g/kg for wheat straw and 6.4 ± 1.9 and 1.1 ± 0.3 g/kg for rice straw under flaming conditions, while they were 40.8 ± 5.6 and 5.8 ± 1.0 g/kg and 37.6 ± 6.3 and 5.0 ± 1.4 g/kg under smoldering conditions, respectively. Higher EC ratios were observed in particulate matter （PM） mass under flaming conditions. The OC and EC for the two combustion patterns were significantly correlated （p 〈 0.01, R = 0.95 for wheat straw; p 〈 0.01, R = 0.97 for rice straw）, and a higher positive correlation between OC3 and EC was observed under both combustion conditions. WSIs emitted from flaming smoke were dominated by Cl- and K＋, which contributed 3.4% and 2.4% of the PM mass for rice straw and 2.2% and 1.0% for wheat straw, respectively. The EFs of Cl- and K＋ were 0.73 ± 0.16 and 0.51 ± 0.14 g/kg for wheat straw and 0.25 ± 0.15 and 0.12 ± 0.05 g/kg for rice straw under flaming conditions, while they were 0.42 ± 0.28 and 0.12 ± 0.06 g/kg and 0.30 ± 0.27 and 0.05 ± 0.03 g/kg under smoldering conditions, respectively. Na＋, Mg2＋, and NH4＋ were vital components in PM, comprising from 0.8% （smoldering） to 3.1% （flaming） of the mass. Strong correlations of Cl- with K＋, NH4＋, and Na＋ ions were observed in rice straw and the calculated diagnostic ratios of OC/EC, K＋/Na＋ and Cl-/Na＋ could be useful to distinguishing crop straw burning from other sources of atmospheric pollution.

Carbon,Nitrogen,and Sulfur Contents in Marine Phytoplankton Cells and Biomass Conversion

In this study,we isolated and cultured phytoplankton along the coast of China and measured the cellular carbon,nitrogen,and sulfur contents under four temperatures.The results showed that the contents of the cellular elements varied widely among different phytoplankton.We found that temperature is one of the important factors affecting the carbon,nitrogen,and sulfur contents in phytoplankton cells;however,the degree of influence of temperature is different for different kinds of phytoplankton.By measuring the nitrogen content in cells,we found that the C:N ratio indirectly measured in the experiment fluctuated in the range of 3.50-8.97,and the average C:N ratio was 5.52.In this experiment,we accurately measured the cell elemental contents at different temperatures and transformed the cell count results into carbon,nitrogen,and sulfur contents to express the biomass.This method ensures that the contribution of species that are small in number but with a large cell volume in biomass is considered.Moreover,this method comprehensively considers the interspecific differences of species and the uneven distribution of elements in phytoplankton cells,which is of significance in the estimation of marine carbon and nitrogen budget.The distribution of nitrogen content in marine phytoplankton can well indicate the marine eutrophication caused by human activities.Climate change can affect the community structure and element composition of marine phytoplankton,meanwhile marine carbon and nitrogen element can regulate the climate to a certain extent.

Carbonaceous aerosols in PM_(10) and pollution gases in winter in Beijing

An intensive observation of organic carbon （OC） and element carbon （EC） in PM10 and gaseous materials （SO2, CO, and O3,） was conducted continuously to assess the characteristics of wintertime carbonaceous aerosols in an urban area of Beijing, China. Results showed that the averaged total carbon （TC） and PM10 concentrations in observation period are 30.2±120.4 and 172.6±198.3 μ/m^3 respectively. Average OC concentration in nighttime （24.9±19.6 μ/m^3 was 40% higher than that in daytime （17.7±10.9 μ/m^3. Average EC concentrations in daytime （8.8±15.2 μ/m^3 was close to that in nighttime （8.9±15.1 μ/m^3. The OC/EC ratios in nighttime ranging from 2.4 to 2.7 are higher than that in daytime ranging from 1.9 to 2.0. The concentrations of OC, EC, PM10 were low with strong winds and high with weak winds. The OC and EC were well correlated with PM10, CO and SO2, which implies they have similar sources. OC and EC were not well correlated with O3. By considering variation of OC/EC ratios in daytime and night time, correlations between OC and O3, and meteorological condition, we speculated that OC and EC in Beijing PM10 were emitted as the primary particulate form. Emission of motor vehicle with low OC/EC ratio and coal combustion sources with high OC/EC ratio are probably the dominant sources for carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing in winter. A simple method was used to estimate the relative contribution of sources to carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing PM10. Motor vehicle source accounts for 80% and 68%, while coal combustion accounts for 20% and 32% in daytime and nighttime, respectively in Beijing. Averagely, the motor vehicle and coal combustion accounted for 74% and 26%, respectively, for carbonaceous aerosols during the observation period. It points to the motor vehicle is dominant emission for carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing PM10 in winter period, which should be paid attention to control high level of PM10 in Beijing effectively.

Characteristics of Carbonaceous Particles in Beijing During Winter and Summer 2003

Campaigns were conducted to measure Organic Carbon （OC） and Elemental Carbon （EC） in PM2.5 during winter and summer 2003 in Beijing. Modest differences of PM2.5 and PM10 mean concentrations were observed between the winter and summer campaigns. The mean PM2.5/PM10 ratio in both seasons was around 60%, indicating PM2.5 contributed significantly to PM10. The mean concentrations of OC and EC in PM2.5 were 11.2±7.5 and 6.0±5.0 μg m^-3 for the winter campaign, and 9.4±2.1 and 4.3±3.0 μg m^-3 for the summer campaign, respectively. Diurnal concentrations of OC and EC in PM2.5 were found high at night and low during the daytime in winter, and characterized by an obvious minimum in the summer afternoon. The mean OC/EC ratio was 1.87±0.09 for winter and 2.39±0.49 for summer. The higher OC/EC ratio in summer indicates some formation of Secondary Organic Carbon （SOC）. The estimated SOC was 2.8 μg m^-3 for winter and 4.2 μg m^-3 for summer.

Chemical Characteristics of Carbonaceous Aerosols During Dust Storms over Xi'an in China

Characterization of carbonaceous aerosols including CC （carbonate carbon）, OC （organic carbon）, and EC （elemental carbon） were investigated at Xi＇an, China, near Asian dust source regions in spring 2002. OC varied between 8.2 and 63.7μgm^- 3, while EC ranged between 2.4 and 17.2 μ m^-3 during the observation period. OC variations followed a similar pattern to EC and the correlation coefficient between OC and EC is 0.89 （n=31）. The average percentage of total carbon （TC, sum of CC, OC, and EC） in PM2.5 during dust storm （DS） events was 13.6%, which is lower than that during non-dust storm （NDS） periods （22.7%）. CC, OC, and EC accounted for 12.9%, 70.7%, and 16.4% of TC during DS events, respectively. The average ratio of OC/EC was 5.0 in DS events and 3.3 in NDS periods. The OC-EC correlation （R^2=0.76, n=6） was good in DS events, while it was stronger （R^2=0.90, n=25） in NDS periods. The percentage of watersoluble OC （WSOC） in TC accounted for 15.7%, and varied between 13.3% and 22.3% during DS events. The distribution of eight carbon fractions indicated that local emissions such as motor vehicle exhaust were the dominant contributors to carbonaceous particles. During DS events, soil dust dominated the chemical composition, contributing 69% to the PM2.5 mass, followed by organic matter （12.8%）, sulfate （4%）, EC （2.2%）, and chloride （1.6%）. Consequently, CC was mainly entrained by Asian dust. However, even in the atmosphere near Asian dust source regions, OC and EC in atmospheric dust were controlled by local emission rather titan the transport of Asian dust.

Characteristics of carbonaceous aerosol in a two-week campaign at Ny-Alesund

The concentrations of organic carbon （OC） and elemental carbon （EC） in total suspended particle （TSP） were investigated at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard in a two-week campaign. The levels of PC and EC are 0.86±0. 27μm^-3 （mean± standard deviation） and 0. 19±0.10 μm^-3 , respectively. Back trajectory analysis of air masses arriving at Ny-Alesund reveals that long-range transport of pol- luted air play insignificant role in PC and EC levels, to which the potential influ- ence of the local contamination were ascribed. The average OC/EC ratio is 5.41, suggesting the presence of the secondary organic aerosols. The estimated secondary organic carbon （SOC） in TSP is 0.59μg/m^3 , accounting for 64% of the total organic carbon.

Strontium Isotope Composition and Characteristic Analysis of Cambrian-Ordovician Carbonate in the Region of Tazhong, Tarim Basin

The research on the trace elements of Ordovician carbonates plays an important part in the whole work on reservoir in Tazhong （塔中 ） area. This paper systematically studies the characteristics and sedimentary settings of Ordovician dolomites in Tazhong area, Tarim basin, and debates their enrichment of mechanisms and different element existing patterns. The study makes use of ICP-MS analysis technology to test the strontium and manganese content of 109 samples from four wells in the Tazhong area, Tarim basin and strontium isotope composition tests have also been done on 25 samples from wells Zhong-1 and Zhong-4 on VG354 solid isotope mass spectrograph. By means of analyzing contents of strontium and manganese elements, doing research on the strontium isotope composition characteristics from wells Zhong-1 and Zhong-4 and comparing the results of strontium analysis to the global Ordovician marine carbonate and its evolution trend, in the combination of sedimentary facies characteristics of isolated wells in this area, we can come to the following cognitions： （1） The marine carbonate strontium isotope curve in the Tazhong area of Tarim basin is consistent to the global evolution trend which is overall descending with time, the direct reason of which is the evolution of paleogeographic environment. The Ordovician paleogeographic environment goes through restricted platform to open platform and then shallow marine shelf in Tazhong area, Tarim basin. Dolomitization is another subordinate reason and the inversion of fluid with high manganese can lead to heavy strontium; （2） The fact that the 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios of the Upper Ordovician in Tazhong area have an apparent mono-decline trend with the time going by, which is similar to the global strontium isotope ratio, is suggesting that the variation of the Upper Ordo- vician sea level is starting, the overall trend of which is the rising of the sea level; （3） Compared to the global seawater strontium ratios, the ^87Sr/^86 Sr ratio of the Lower Ordovician is much high, and ^87Sr/^86Sr ratio of the Lower Ordovician is overall increasing with its maximum value reaching 0. 709 727, the reasons of which are dolomitization, evaporation of the supratidal and the reflux of high manganese haline, those reasons can lead to the increasing amount of the strontium and the rising of the ^87 Sr/^86 Sr ratio; （4） The manganese element content changes little. Dolomitization has little impact on it; （5） Big variation occurs in the strontium values of Ordovician carbonate in the region of Tazhong. Apart from paleogeographic environment and petrography, the factors which can affect the values of strontium are the content of the terrestrial clastics and the diagenesis modification which may result in the further changing of the strontium values.

Chemical characteristics of PM_(2.5) during a typical haze episode in Guangzhou

The chemical characteristics（water-soluble ions and carbonaceous species） of PM2.5 in Guangzhou were measured during a typical haze episode.Most of the chemical species in PM2.5 showed significant difference between normal and haze days.The highest contributors to PM2.5 were organic carbon（OC）,nitrate,and sulfate in haze days and were OC,sulfate,and elemental carbon（EC） in normal days.The concentrations of secondary species such as,NO3^-,SO4^2-,and NH4^＋ in haze days were 6.5,3.9,and 5.3 times higher than those in normal days,respectively,while primary species（EC,Ca^2＋,K^＋） show similar increase from normal to haze days by a factor about 2.2-2.4.OC/EC ratio ranged from 2.8 to 6.2 with an average of 4.7 and the estimation on a minimum OC/EC ratio showed that SOC（secondary organic carbon） accounted more than 36.6% for the total organic carbon in haze days.The significantly increase in the secondary species（SOC,NO3^-,SO4^2-,and NH4^＋）,especially in NO3^-,caused the worst air quality in this region.Simultaneously,the result illustrated that the serious air pollution in haze episodes was strongly correlated with the meteorological conditions.During the sampling periods,air pollution and visibility had a good relationship with the air mass transport distance;the shorter air masses transport distance,the worse air quality and visibility in Guangzhou,indicating the strong domination of local sources contributing to haze formation.High concentration of the secondary aerosol in haze episodes was likely due to the higher oxidation rates of sulfur and nitrogen species.

Diesel engine exhaust exposures in two underground mines

Exposure to diesel engine exhaust(DE) is a major concern in underground mines. It has been linked to cardiopulmonary diseases and is classified as a human carcinogen. The goal of this study is to assess DE exposures in workers at two underground gold mines, to compare exposure levels within and between the mines, and to compare different methods of measuring DE exposures, namely respirable combustible dust(RCD), elemental carbon(EC) and total carbon(TC). Ambient and personal breathing zone(PBZ) measurements were taken. Side-by-side monitoring of RCD and of the respirable fraction of EC and TC(EC_Rand TC_R) was carried out in the workers' breathing zone during full-shift work.Regarding ambient measurements, in addition to EC_R, TC_Rand RCD, a submicron aerosol fraction(less than 1 mm) of EC and TC was also sampled(EC_1and TC_1). Average ambient results of 240 mg/m^3 in RCD, 150 mg/m^3 in EC_Rand 210 mg/m^3 in TC_Rare obtained. Average PBZ results of 190 mg/m^3 in RCD,84 mg/m^3 in EC3Rand 150 mg/min TC_Rare obtained. Very good correlation is found between EC_Rand EC_1 with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.99(p < 0.01) calculated between the two logtransformed concentrations. No differences are reported between EC_Rand EC_1, nor between TC_Rand TC_1, since ratios are equal to 1.04, close to 1, in both cases. Highest exposures are reported for loadhaul-dump(LHD) and jumbo drill operators and conventional miners. Significant exposure differences are reported between mines for truck and LHD operators(p < 0.01). The average TC_R/EC_Rratio is 1.6 for PBZ results, and 1.3 for ambient results. The variability observed in the TC_R/EC_Rratio shows that interferences from non-diesel related organic carbon can skew the interpretation of results when relying only on TC data.

Cu Partitioning Behavior and Its Effect on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 0.12C-1.33Mn-0.55Cu Q&P Steel

Cu, as an austenitic stable element, is added to steel in order to suppress the adverse effects of high content of C and Mn on welding. Based on C partitioning, Cu and Mn partitioning can further improve the stability of retained austenite in the intercritical annealing process. A sample of low carbon steel containing Cu was treated by the intercritical annealing, then quenching process（I＆Q）. Subsequently, another sample was treated by the intercritical annealing, subsequent austenitizing, then quenching and partitioning process（I＆Q＆P）. The effects of element partitioning behavior in intercritical region on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the steel were studied. The results showed that after the I＆Q process ferrite and martensite could be obtained, with C, Cu and Mn enriched in the martensite. When intercritically heated at 800 ℃, Cu and Mn were partitioned from ferrite to austenite, which was enhanced gradually as the heating time was increased. This partitioning effect was the most obvious when the sample was heated at 800 ℃ for 40 min. At the early stage of α→γ transformation, the formation of γ was controlled by the partitioning of carbon, while at the later stage, it was mainly affected by the partitioning of Cu and Mn. After the I＆Q＆P process, the partitioning effect of Cu and Mn element could be retained. C was assembled in retained austenite during the quenching and partitioning process. The strength and elongation of I＆Q＆P steel was increased by 5 305 MPa% compared with that subjected to Q＆P process. The volume fraction of retained autensite was increased from 8.5% to 11.2%. Hence, the content of retained austenite could be improved significantly by Mn and Cu partitioning, which increased the elongation of steel.

SPATIAL AND SEASONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF ATMOSPHERIC CARBONACEOUS AEROSOLS IN PEARL RIVER DELTA REGION, CHINA

Concentrations and spatial distributions of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in atmospheric particles were measured at 8 sites in four cities (Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai) of Pearl River Delta Region (PRDR), China during 2001 winter period and 2002 summer period. PM2.5 (particie diameter smaller than 2.5 um) and PM10 (particie diameter smaller than 10 um) samples were collected on pre-fired quartz filters with mini-volume samplers and analyzed using thermal optical reflectance (TOR) method. The average PM2.5and PM10 Ievel were 60.1 and 93.1 μg·m-3, respectively, with PM2.5 constituting 65.3% of the PM10 mass. The average OC and EC concentrations in PM2.5 were 12.0 and 5.1 μg·m-3, respectively, while those in PM10 were 16.0 and 6.5 μg·m-3, respectively. The carbo-naceous aerosol accounted for 37.2% of the PM2.5 and 32.8% of the PM10. The highest concentrations of OC and EC were observed at Guangzhou city in both vvinter and summer seasons. The average OC/EC ratios were 2.4 for PM2.5 and 2.5 for PM10, indicating the presence of secondary organic aerosols. The OC and EC in PRDR were found to be strongly correlated (correlation coefficients > 0.6), which implied that similar emission source contribute to the ambient carbon particles.

DISTRIBUTION OF CARBONACEOUS AEROSOL DURING SPRING 2005 OVER THE HORQIN SANDLAND IN NORTHEASTERN CHINA

The objective of this study was to characterize the elemental carbon and organic carbon （EC and OC, respectively） content of aerosol particles （PM2.5） collected at Tongliao, a site in the Horqin Sandland of northeastern China. During spring 2005, the PM2.5 mass concentration was 126±71 μg·m^-3, with higher dust concentrations during five dust storms than on non-dusty days （255±77 vs. 106±44 μg·m^-3）. The average OC and EC concentrations in PM2.5 determined by a thermal/optical reflectance method were 15.7±7,3 μg·m^-3 and 3.3±1.7 μg·m^-3, respectively, and carbonaceous aerosol accounted for 9.9% of the PM2.5 mass during dust storms compared to 21.7% on normal days. The average ratios of OC to EC during dust storms were similar to those on non-dusty days, and the correlation coefficient between OC and EC was high, 0.86. The high OC/EC ratios, the distributions of eight carbon fractions, and the strong relationship between K with OC and EC indicate that rural biomass burning was the dominant contributor to the regional carbonaceous aerosol.

Carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere and precipitation of the Nam Co region, central Tibet

A continuous air and precipitation sampling for carbonaceous particles was conducted in a field observatory beside Nam Co, Central Tibetan Plateau during July of 2006 through January of 2007. Organic carbon （OC） was the dominant composition of the carbonaceous particles both in the atmosphere （1660 ng/m ^3 ） and precipitation （476 ng/g） in this area, while the average elemental carbon （BC） concentrations in the atmosphere and precipitation were only 82 ng/m 3 and 8 ng/g, respectively. Very high OC/BC ratio suggested local secondary organic carbon could be a dominant contribution to OC over the Nam Co region, while BC could be mainly originated from Southern Asia, as indicated by trajectory analysis and aerosol optical depth. Comparison between the BC concentrations measured in Lhasa, those at ＂Nepal Climate Observatory at Pyramid （NCO-P）＂ site on the southern slope of the Himalayas, and Nam Co suggested BC in the Nam Co region reflected a background with weak anthropogenic disturbances and the emissions from Lhasa might have little impact on the atmospheric environment here, while the pollutants from the Indo-Gangetic Basin of Southern Asia could be transported to the Nam Co region by both the summer monsoon and the westerly.

Seasonality of carbonaceous aerosol composition and light absorption properties in Karachi,Pakistan

Characteristics of carbonaceous aerosol(CA)and its light absorption properties are limited in Karachi,which is one of the most polluted metropolitan cities in South Asia.This study presents a comprehensive measurement of seasonality of CA compositions and mass absorption cross-section(MAC)of elemental carbon(EC)and water-soluble organic carbon(WSOC)in total suspended particles(TSP)collected from February 2015 to March 2017 in the southwest part of Karachi.The average TSP,organic carbon(OC),and EC concentrations were extremely high with values as 391.0±217.0,37.2±28.0,and 8.53±6.97μg/m3,respectively.These components showed clear seasonal variations with high concentrations occurring during fall and winter followed by spring and summer.SO42-,NO3-,K+,and NH4+showed similar variations with CA,implying the significant influence on atmospheric pollutants from anthropogenic activities.Relatively lower OC/EG ratio(4.20±2.50)compared with remote regions further indicates fossil fuel combustion as a primary source of CA.Meanwhile,sea salt and soil dust are important contribution sources for TSP.The average MAC of EC(632 nm)and WSOC(365 nm)were 6.56±2.70 and 0.97±0.37 m2/g,respectively.MACEC is comparable to that in urban areas but lower than that in remote regions,indicating the significant influence of local emissions.MACwsoc showed opposite distribution with EC,further suggesting that OC was significantly affected by local fossil fuel combustion.In addition,dust might be an important factor increasing MACwsoc particularly during spring and summer.

Improved estimation of PM_(2.5) brown carbon contributions to filter light attenuation

Multiwavelength light attenuation measurements have been acquired as part of thermal/optical carbon analysis in the U.S.Chemical Speciation Network(CSN)and the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments(IMPROVE)network beginning in 2016.These are used to estimate PM_(2.5)brown carbon(BrC)contributions to light absorption at various wavelengths,a useful method for separating biomass burning contributions from other sources.Attenuation of light transmitted through the filter deviates from Beers Law as the mass of light absorbing materials increase.This study estimates the effects of these deviations with empirical adjustment factors applied to samples for CSN from 2016 to 2017 and for IMPROVE from 2016 to 2019.Accounting for the filter loading effect results in an annual average increase of∼6-7%BrC contribution to light attenuation:from 3.6%to 10.7%for the urban,more heavily loaded CSN samples;and from 23.7%to 29.5%for the non-urban IMPROVE samples.An alternative method is examined for BrC and black carbon(BC)adjustments by calculating the AbsorptionÅngström Exponent(AAE)for BC(i.e.,AAE_(BC))based on the ratios of 635 nm/780 nm light attenuation rather than assuming AAE_(BC)of unity.These paired-wavelength calculations result in a median AAE_(BC)of 0.76 for CSN and 0.8 for IMPROVE,with the majority of samples(i.e.,91%of CSN and 70%of IMPROVE)showing AAE_(BC)<1.By assuming negligible contributions from BrC to AAE at longer wavelengths,the amount of light attenuation at shorter wavelengths(e.g.,405 nm)where BrC is dominant can be calculated.The paired-wavelength method applied to the filter loading adjusted data has a greater effect on urban(fresh)than on non-urban(aged)aerosols,resulting in a factor of two increase in annual averaged BrC light attenuation(from 10.7%to 21.6%)for CSN and by a factor of 1.11(from 29.5%to 32.7%)for IMPROVE samples.This result demonstrates the importance of particle loading and AAE correction on quantifying BrC light attenuation from multi-wavelength thermal/optical analysis.