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Elucidating the Sources of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in the City of Calgary, Canada
MD. AYNUL BARI, Sharif Nawyaz, Warren Kinderzierski, University at Albany, SUNY
Abstract Number: 368
Working Group: Source Apportionment
Abstract
With ongoing interest and concern about the state of fine particulate air pollution in urban centers, a study was done to better elucidate fine particulate matter (PM2.5) sources in the City of Calgary, Canada. The study was carried out using available PM2.5 speciation data for 4 years (June 2013–May 2017) at Calgary downtown. Twenty-four hour arithmetic and geometric mean concentrations of PM2.5 were low i.e., 6.7 µg/m3 and 5.2 µg/m3, respectively and ranged from 0.23 to 75 µg/m3. Nine PM2.5 sources were identified using a multivariate receptor model positive matrix factorization (PMF). Secondary particulate matter including secondary organic aerosol (SOA), secondary nitrate and secondary sulfate was the largest contributor to PM2.5 (3.7 µg/m3, 57%), consistent with results obtained in a previous source apportionment study recently completed (secondary aerosol 54%) using hourly concentrations of gaseous pollutants. Other notable sources include traffic (0.78 µg/m3, 12%), road-salt (0.49 µg/m3, 7.7%), biomass burning (0.43 µg/m3, 6.7%) and soil (0.52 µg/m3, 8.1%) with minor contributions from aluminum- and zinc-rich sources. Further work is needed to understand the origin of potential SOA and secondary sulfate precursor sources in Calgary and the surrounding region. These findings provide an improved understanding of ambient concentrations and contribution of different source emissions to PM2.5 in Calgary and this information can aid in developing appropriate air quality management strategies for PM2.5.