A study of the chemical composition and transport of marine aerosols over the ocean near China

In this paper the authors cite the aerosol samples collected with a KA-200 Anderson cascade Impactor and a KB-120 sampler during the first cruise of the Kuroshio investigation operated by the People's Republic of China and Japan cooperative program, from July 23 to August 21, 1987. The concentration size distributions and composition of marine aerosols over the Kuroshio area are analyzed. Neutron activation analysis is used to determine the elemental composition of the aerosols. The authors also discuss some characteristics of marine aerosols relating to long-range transport of crustal and anthropogenic elements from the continent to the remote ocean. Analytical results indicate that elements Al, Fe, Sc and Sb over this area are obviously influenced by the continent of Asia, and the size distributions are changed after long-range transport. The concentration of large particles increase. The concentrations of the elements C1 and Na are closely related to ocean conditions; the source of the elements Cl and Na is mainly the ocean. Besides coal combustion, the ocean is also a very important source for the element Se. The amount of Se is related to the distribution of marine life.

Sources and characteristics of fine particles over the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea using online single particle aerosol mass spectrometer

Marine aerosols over the East China Seas are heavily polluted by continental sources. During the Chinese Comprehensive Ocean Experiment in November 2012, size and mass spectra of individual atmospheric particles in the size range from 0.2 to 2.0 μm were measured on board by a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer （SPAMS）. The average hourly particle number （PN） was around 4560 ＋ 3240 in the South Yellow Sea （SYS）, 2900 ± 3970 in the North Yellow Sea （NYS）, and 1700 ± 2220 in the Bohai Sea （BS）. PN in NYS and BS varied greatly over 3 orders of magnitude, while that in SYS varied shghtly. The size distributions were fitted with two log-normal modes. Accumulation mode dominated in NYS and BS, especially during episodic periods. Coarse mode particles played an important role in SYS. Particles were dassifled using an adaptive resonance theory based neural network algorithm （ART-2a）. Six particle types were identified with secondary-containing, aged sea-salt, soot-like, biomass burning, fresh sea-salt, and lead-containing particles accounting for 32%, 21%, 18%, 16%, 4%, and 3% of total PN, respectively. Aerosols in BS were relatively enriched in particles from anthropogenic sources compared to SYS, probably due to emissions from more developed upwind regions and indicating stronger influence of continental outflow on marine environment. Variation of source types depended mainly on origins of transported air masses. This study examined rapid changes in PN, size distribution and source types of fine particles in marine atmospheres. It also demonstrated the effectiveness of hi,h-time-resolution source apportionment by ART-2a.