Carbonaceous aerosols at urban influenced sites in Norway

Abstract

Little is known regarding levels and source strength of carbonaceous aerosols in Scandinavia. In the present study, ambient aerosol (PM 10 and PM 2.5 ) 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 Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back CloseFull Screen / Esc Printer-friendly VersionInteractive Discussion 20 of OC also allows for a much better evaluation of atmospheric models than simple comparison with total OC allows. For example, Simpson et al. (2007) clearly showed that increased knowledge of the wood-burning (and other) contributions to measured OC levels could explain many apparent discrepancies between modelled and measured wintertime OC. While quantification of single organic molecules can be useful for 25 the purpose of source apportionment, this approach becomes an insurmountable task when it comes to mass closure studies due to the great number of organic molecules associated with the carbonaceous aerosol. Thus, implementation of operational definiAbstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables urban background site is situated in a park in the central part of Oslo, at which sampling 19490 ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables 25 Aerosol sampling was performed using tandem filter set-ups (McDow and Huntzicker, 1990) in order to correct for the positive sampling artefact introduced by semi 19491 ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables 25 acid impregnated cellulose filter (Whatman 40) (EMEP, 1995). Potassium was obtained 19492 ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables ACPD Abstract 25 19502 Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables ACPD Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables and Letters and Statoil) project number 6143, the Norwegian Research Council project number 171691/S30 (SORGA), the EU project number 036833-2 (EUCAARI) within the 6th Framework 25 Programme, and UNECE

Fossil and non-fossil sources of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in Göteborg, Sweden

“…The mean concentration observed at the urban site in summer (17±11 ng m −3 ) was more than three times lower than the concentrations observed in winter. Increased concentrations of levoglucosan in winter compared to summer has previously been reported by Zdrahal et al (2001) for Ghent (Belgium), for Zurich (Switzerland), and Yttri et al (2008) for Elverum (Norway), although more pronounced (up to factor of 20) than for Göteborg. The less evident seasonal variation observed in Göteborg is attributed to the low levels of levoglucosan in winter, while summertime levels are equal to those reported by Zdrahal et al (2001) and Yttri et al (2008).…”

“…The mean concentration of levoglucosan observed at the urban site in Göteborg is in the lower range of what has been reported for other major (>500 000 inhabitants) cities in Scandinavia during wintertime sampling, i.e. Copenhagen (Oliveira et al, 2007), Helsinki (Saarnio et al, 2006;Sillanpää et al, 2005) and Oslo (Yttri et al, 2005(Yttri et al, , 2008 (see Table 5). The difference is even larger when compared to small Scandinavian towns (<20 000 inhabitants), for which the mean concentrations of levoglucosan range between 0.2-0.9 µg m −3 (Yttri et al, 2005;Hedberg et al, 2006;Glasius et al, 2008).…”

“…The relative contribution of levoglucosan is in the lower range of what has been reported previously for European sites (e.g. Zdráhal et al, 2001;Pashynska et al, 2002;Yttri et al, 2005Yttri et al, , 2008.…”

“…For Scandinavia, Yttri et al (2008) found levoglucosan/OC emission ratios of 8.9% (likely range 7.1-12%) for PM 2.5 and 6.7% (range 5.6-9.1%) for PM 10 , in an area almost exclusively influenced by residential wood burning. That study accounted for the positive sampling artifacts of OC and so likely produced higher levoglucosan/OC ratios than are applicable for our work.…”

Fossil and non-fossil sources of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in Göteborg, Sweden

“…The relative contribution of levoglucosan is in the lower range of what has been reported previously for European sites (e.g. Zdráhal et al, 2001;Pashynska et al, 2002;Yttri et al, 2005Yttri et al, , 2008. A mean concentration of 62±30 ng m −3 levoglucosan was observed at the urban site Femman in Göteborg during wintertime sampling (Table 4).…”