scholarly journals Water-soluble organic carbon and oxalate in aerosols at a coastal urban site in China: Size distribution characteristics, sources, and formation mechanisms

2006 ◽  
Vol 111 (D22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Feng Huang ◽  
Jian Zhen Yu ◽  
Ling-Yan He ◽  
Zibing Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Urban Site ◽  
Formation Mechanisms ◽  
Distribution Characteristics ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Soluble Organic Carbon

scholarly journals A method for on-line measurement of water-soluble organic carbon in ambient aerosol particles: Results from an urban site

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (13) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Sullivan ◽  
R. J. Weber ◽  
A. L. Clements ◽  
J. R. Turner ◽  
M. S. Bae ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Urban Site ◽  
Ambient Aerosol ◽  
Line Measurement ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
On Line

scholarly journals Formation mechanism and source apportionment of water-soluble organic carbon in PM<sub>1</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> in Beijing during haze episodes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Yu ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Weihua Qin ◽  
Yuepeng Zhang ◽  
Siming Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Aqueous Phase ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Distribution Characteristics ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Phase Oxidation ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Haze Episode

Abstract. Water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in atmospheric aerosols may pose significant impacts on haze formation, climate change, and human health. This study investigated the distribution characteristics and sources of WSOC in Beijing based on the diurnal PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 samples collected during haze episodes in winter and early spring of 2017. The haze episode in winter showed elevated level of WSOC, around three times of that in spring. WSOC was enriched in PM2.5 in winter while the proportions in both finer (0–1 μm) and coarse particles (2.5–10 μm) increased in spring. Several organic tracers were carefully selected and measured to demonstrate the sources and formation mechanism of WSOC. Most of the identified organic tracers showed similar seasonal variation, diurnal change and size distributions with WSOC, while the biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracer cis-pinonic acid was an obvious exception. Based on the distribution characteristics of the secondary organic tracers and their correlation patterns with key influencing factors, the importance of the gas-phase versus aqueous-phase oxidation processes on SOA formation was explored. The gas-phase photochemical oxidation was weakened during haze episodes, whereas the aqueous-phase oxidation became the major pathway of SOA formation, especially in winter, at night and for the coarser particles. Secondary sources accounted for more than 50 % of WSOC in both winter and spring. Biomass burning was not the dominant source of WSOC in Beijing during haze episodes. Primary sources showed greater influence on finer particles while secondary sources became more important for coarser particles during haze episode in winter. SOC estimated by the OC-EC method, WSOC-levoglucosan method, and PMF-based methods were comparable, and the potential errors for different SOC estimation methods were discussed.

scholarly journals Significant Contribution of Primary Sources to Water-Soluble Organic Carbon During Spring in Beijing, China

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Yali Jin ◽  
Caiqing Yan ◽  
Amy P. Sullivan ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
Xinming Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Formation Mechanisms ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Soluble Organic Carbon

Despite the significant role water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) plays in climate and human health, sources and formation mechanisms of atmospheric WSOC are still unclear; especially in some heavily polluted areas. In this study, near real-time WSOC measurement was conducted in Beijing for the first time with a particle-into-liquid-sampler coupled to a total organic carbon analyzer during the springtime, together with collocated online measurements of other chemical components in fine particulate matter with a 1 h time resolution, including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), multiple metals, and water-soluble ions. Good correlations of WSOC with primary OC, as well as carbon monoxide, indicated that major sources of WSOC were primary instead of secondary during the study period. The positive matrix factorization model-based source apportionment results quantified that 68 ± 19% of WSOC could be attributed to primary sources, with predominant contributions by biomass burning during the study period. This finding was further confirmed by the estimate with the modified EC-tracer method, suggesting significant contribution of primary sources to WSOC. However, the relative contribution of secondary source to WSOC increased during haze episodes. The WSOC/OC ratio exhibited similar diurnal distributions with O3 and correlated well with secondary WSOC, suggesting that the WSOC/OC ratio might act as an indicator of secondary formation when WSOC was dominated by primary sources. This study provided evidence that primary sources could be major sources of WSOC in some polluted megacities, such as Beijing. From this study, it can be seen that WSOC cannot be simply used as a surrogate of secondary organic aerosol, and its major sources could vary by season and location.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document