AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Source Apportionment of Primary Particulate Matter and its Carbonaceous and Trace Elemental Components in the Eastern US
HONGLIANG ZHANG, Gang Chen, Jianlin Hu, Shu-Hua Chen, Michael Kleeman, Qi Ying, Texas A&M University
Abstract Number: 229 Working Group: Source Apportionment
Abstract Trace elements in primary particulate matter (PM), along with elemental and organic carbon, have been assumed to be associated with adverse health effects. Evaluating the ability of chemical transport models (CTMs) in reproducing the observed concentrations of primary particulate matter and its components is essential in applying these models for air pollution epidemiology studies. In addition, quantitative determination of source contributions to these primary PM components is needed for effective control strategies.
In this study, the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) is modified to simultaneously track primary PM2.5 mass concentrations in the eastern US from a large number of sources during a 7-year (2000-2006) air quality modeling study. The meteorological inputs are generated with the Weather Research & Forecasting (WRF) model, version 3.2.1. The Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE V2.7) Modeling System is modified to generate primary PM emission from the EPA’s National Emission Inventory platforms. Source profiles of primary particulate matter with detailed speciation information will be used to find out the concentrations and source contributions to elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and trace elements (Fe, Al, Si, Ti, Ca, K, Mn and Mg). The model predicted EC, OC and trace elements are compared with all available surface observations. Annual and seasonal variations as well as main sources of primary PM in seven US cities (Chicago, New York City, Detroit, Pittsburgh, St. Paul, Baltimore, and Winston-Salem) are identified.