Characterization of aerosol particle episodes in Finland caused by wildfires in Eastern Europe

Abstract

Abstract. We studied the sources, compositions and size distributions of aerosol particles during long-range transport (LRT) PM 2.5 episodes which occurred on 12-15 August, 26-28 August and 5-6 September 2002 in Finland. Backward air mass trajectories, satellite detections of fire areas and dispersion modelling results indicate that emissions from wildfires in Russia and other Eastern European countries arrived in Finland during these episodes. Elemental analyses using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalyses (EDX) showed that the proportions of S-rich particles and agglomerates (agglomeration was caused partly by the sampling method used) increased during the episodes, and they contained elevated fractions of K, indicating emissions from biomass burning. These aerosols were mixed with S-rich emissions from fossil fuel burning during transport since air masses came through polluted areas of Europe. Minor amounts of coarse Ca-rich particles were also brought by LRT during the episodes, and they probably originated from wildfires and/or from Estonian and Russian oil-shale-burning industrial areas. Ion chromatography analysis showed that concentrations of sulphate (SO 2− 4 ), total nitrate (NO − 3 +HNO 3 (g)) and total ammonium (NH + 4 +NH 3 (g)) increased during the episodes, but the ratio of the total amount of these ions to PM 10 concentration decreased, indicating unusually high fractions of other chemical components. Particle number size distribution measurements with differential mobility particle sizer (DMPS) revealed that concentrations of particles 90-500 nm increasedCorrespondence to: J. V. Niemi (jarkko.v.niemi@helsinki.fi) during the episodes, while concentrations of particles smaller than 90 nm decreased. The reduction of the smallest particles was caused by suppressed new particle formation due to vapour and molecular cluster uptake of LRT particles. Our results show that emissions from wildfires in Russian and other Eastern European countries deteriorated air quality of very large areas, even at distances of over 1000 km from the fire areas.

Seasonal air quality profile of inorganic ionic composition of PM10 near Taj Mahal in Agra, India

“…Sufficient data on PM 10 are now available worldwide that emphasize on characteristics and sources (Kyotani and Iwatsuki 2002;Shi et al 2003;Dan et al 2004;Samburova et al 2005;Johnson et al 2006), particle size distribution (Chonga et al 2002;Han et al 2005), and spatial and temporal patterns (Gomiscek et al 2004; Anttila and Salmi 2006). Some studies reported the emissions of fine particles caused by natural episodes (Niemi et al 2004(Niemi et al , 2005Wang et al 2006). Nowadays, in developed countries, attention has been paid to fine and ultrafine particles.…”

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“…1 In 2014 alone, the US had 63,612 wildfires and 17,044 prescribed burns with a combined burned area of about 6 million acres, leading the US Department of Interior and the US Forest Service to spend approximately $1.5 billion on suppression efforts. 2 In response to wildland fires increasing in both frequency and intensity in recent years, 3,4 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the firefighter employment numbers will also continue to increase in the years to come.…”

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“…Fires in Russia and eastern Europe also influence northern Europe. For example, Niemi et al (2005) showed that increases in very low longterm background PM 2.5 levels of about 8 µg m −3 in parts of Finland were increased to more than 30 µg m −3 during such events.…”