Assessing the Influence of Seasonal and Spatial Variations on the Estimation of Secondary Organic Carbon in Urban Particulate Matter by Applying the EC-Tracer Method

Atmosphere

Sandra Wagener⁴  Marcel Langner³  Ute Hansen²  Heinz-Jörn Moriske¹ 

[1] German Federal Environmental Agency, Corrensplatz 1, D-14195 Berlin, Germany; E-Mail:;Biology Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, D-10099 Berlin, Germany; E-Mail:;German Federal Environmental Agency, Wörlitzer Platz 1, D-06844 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany; E-Mail:;Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, D-10099 Berlin, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: urban aerosol;    secondary aerosol;    EC-tracer;    PMF;    vegetation;    biomass burning;   

DOI  :  10.3390/atmos5020252

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The elemental carbon (EC)-tracer method was applied to PM₁₀ and PM₁ data of three sampling sites in the City of Berlin from February to October 2010. The sites were characterized by differing exposure to traffic and vegetation. The aim was to determine the secondary organic carbon (SOC) concentration and to describe the parameters influencing the application of the EC-tracer method. The evaluation was based on comparisons with results obtained from positive matrix factorization (PMF) applied to the same samples. To obtain site- and seasonal representative primary OC/EC-ratios ([OC/EC]_p), the EC-tracer method was performed separately for each station, and additionally discrete for samples with high and low contribution of biomass burning. Estimated SOC-concentrations for all stations were between 11% and 33% of total OC. SOC-concentrations obtained with PMF exceeded EC-tracer results more than 100% at the park in the period with low biomass burning emissions in PM₁₀. The deviations were besides others attributed to the high ratio of biogenic to combustion emissions and to direct exposure to vegetation. The occurrences of biomass burning emissions in contrast lead to increased SOC-concentrations compared to PMF in PM₁₀. The obtained results distinguish that the EC-tracer-method provides well comparable results with PMF if sites are strongly influenced by one characteristic primary combustion source, but was found to be adversely influenced by direct and relatively high biogenic emissions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.