TY - JOUR
T1 - Concentrations and light absorption characteristics of carbonaceous aerosol in PM2.5 and PM10 of Lhasa city, the Tibetan Plateau
AU - Li, Chaoliu
AU - Chen, Pengfei
AU - Kang, Shichang
AU - Yan, Fangping
AU - Hu, Zhaofu
AU - Qu, Bin
AU - Sillanpää, Mika
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2016/2/1
Y1 - 2016/2/1
N2 - Light absorption properties of carbonaceous aerosol strongly influence the Earth's radiative balance, yet the related knowledge is limited for the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the highest and largest plateau in the world. In this study, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) of PM2.5 and PM10 of Lhasa collected from May 2013 to March 2014 were studied. It showed that daily-average concentrations of OC, EC and WSOC of PM2.5 and PM10 were lower than those of other megacities. Lhasa PM2.5 was characterized by low OC/EC ratio (1.46 ± 0.55), which was similar to that of Lhasa roadside PM2.5 (1.25 ± 0.45), reflecting mainly direct influence of primary emissions and less secondary formation. Hence, although Lhasa atmosphere is relatively clean, it is intensively influenced by local vehicle emissions. Mass absorption cross-section of EC (MACEC) for both PM2.5 and PM10 at 632 nm were 7.19 ± 1.19 m2 g-1 and 7.98 ± 2.32 m2 g-1, respectively, both of which had similar variation patterns to OC/EC and secondary OC (SOC)/OC, indicating that the increase of MACEC might be caused by coating with organic aerosol. Additionally, the loading of EC for both PM2.5 and PM10 showed logarithmic relationships with those of optical attenuation (ATN) of EC, implying that the shadowing effect enhanced logarithmic with increased EC concentration. MAC of WSOC at 365 nm for PM2.5 (0.74 ± 0.22 m2 g-1) and PM10 (0.78 ± 0.21 m2 g-1) were also close to reported values of other cities mainly influenced by fossil combustion. Additionally, attenuation at 365 nm of WSOC of both PM2.5 and PM10 showed the same relationship with their WSOC concentrations, implying no difference for light absorption properties of WSOC for these two grain sizes.
AB - Light absorption properties of carbonaceous aerosol strongly influence the Earth's radiative balance, yet the related knowledge is limited for the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the highest and largest plateau in the world. In this study, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) of PM2.5 and PM10 of Lhasa collected from May 2013 to March 2014 were studied. It showed that daily-average concentrations of OC, EC and WSOC of PM2.5 and PM10 were lower than those of other megacities. Lhasa PM2.5 was characterized by low OC/EC ratio (1.46 ± 0.55), which was similar to that of Lhasa roadside PM2.5 (1.25 ± 0.45), reflecting mainly direct influence of primary emissions and less secondary formation. Hence, although Lhasa atmosphere is relatively clean, it is intensively influenced by local vehicle emissions. Mass absorption cross-section of EC (MACEC) for both PM2.5 and PM10 at 632 nm were 7.19 ± 1.19 m2 g-1 and 7.98 ± 2.32 m2 g-1, respectively, both of which had similar variation patterns to OC/EC and secondary OC (SOC)/OC, indicating that the increase of MACEC might be caused by coating with organic aerosol. Additionally, the loading of EC for both PM2.5 and PM10 showed logarithmic relationships with those of optical attenuation (ATN) of EC, implying that the shadowing effect enhanced logarithmic with increased EC concentration. MAC of WSOC at 365 nm for PM2.5 (0.74 ± 0.22 m2 g-1) and PM10 (0.78 ± 0.21 m2 g-1) were also close to reported values of other cities mainly influenced by fossil combustion. Additionally, attenuation at 365 nm of WSOC of both PM2.5 and PM10 showed the same relationship with their WSOC concentrations, implying no difference for light absorption properties of WSOC for these two grain sizes.
KW - Black carbon
KW - Carbonaceous aerosol
KW - Lhasa
KW - Light absorption
KW - The Tibetan Plateau
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84952683628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.12.059
DO - 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.12.059
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84952683628
SN - 1352-2310
VL - 127
SP - 340
EP - 346
JO - Atmospheric Environment
JF - Atmospheric Environment
ER -
