Winter and Summer Characteristics of Airborne Particles Inside Emperor Qin's Terra-Cotta Museum, China: A Study by Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry

Abstract

Day-and nighttime total suspended particulate matter was collected inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-Cotta Museum in winter and summer 2008. The purpose was to characterize the winter and summer differences of indoor airborne particles in two display halls with different architectural and ventilation conditions, namely the Exhibition Hall and Pit No. 1. The morphology and elemental composition of two season samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. It is found that the particle size, particle mass concentration, and particle type were associated with the visitor numbers in the Exhibition Hall and with the natural ventilation in Pit No. 1 in both winter and summer. Evident winter and summer changes in the composition and physicochemical properties of the indoor suspended particulate matters were related to the source emission and the meteorological conditions. Particle mass concentrations in both halls were higher in winter than in summer. In winter, the size of the most abundant particles at the three sites were all between 0.5 and 1.0 mm, whereas in summer the peaks were all located at less than 0.5 mm. The fraction of sulfurcontaining particles was 2-7 times higher in winter than in summer. In addition to the potential soiling hazard, the formation and deposition of sulfur-containing particles in winter may lead to the chemical and physical weathering of the surfaces of the terra-cotta statues.

Investigations on Deposited Dust Fallout in Urban Doha: Characterization, Source Apportionment and Mitigation

“…It is worth mentioning that the average particle size of particulate matter in our previous study of the samples collected in the summer was found to be around 2.4 µm [16]. The seasonal variation in PM size was reported to be larger in winter compared to summer for other locations such as China [34], Australia [35] where agglomeration of particles in the winter was noticed due to wet weather. Representative SEM micrographs with various magnifications of the dust particles Furthermore, two principle quantities were identified to analyze the particle size and shape of the particulate matter; the aspect ratio (Ct) and the shape factor (A shape ).…”

Inhalable and Respirable Dust Concentration of Soiled Stone, Metal and Ceramic Artefact Inside National Museum Malaysia

“…Besides, Gallery A and Gallery B were situated on the ground floor as well as attached to the museum lobby where many tourists gather hence there would be a lot of air exchange (Hu et al, 2011). In addition, the number of tourists coming into the museum during the weekday are more than the weekend.…”

Evaluation of Policy Influence on Long-Term Indoor Air Quality in Emperor Qin’s Terra-Cotta Museum, China

“…In China, particulate pollution due to rapid industrialization and urbanization has become a serious environmental problem at the regional scale [13]. Thus, the surrounding environment was also considered to evaluate the potential soiling and weathering hazards from outdoor particulate matter for statues inside naturally-ventilated museums [14][15][16][17][18][19].…”