AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Chemical Characterization of Atmospheric Fine Aerosol at the Jefferson Street, Atlanta, GA Using the Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM): Results from Winter, Spring and Summer 2014
WERUKA RATTANAVARAHA, Sri Hapsari Budisulistiorini, Philip Croteau, Karsten Baumann, Eric Edgerton, Manjula Canagaratna, John Jayne, Douglas Worsnop, Stephanie Shaw, Jason Surratt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Abstract Number: 575 Working Group: Air Quality and Climate in the Southeast US: Insights from Recent Measurement Campaigns
Abstract Atmospheric fine aerosol (particulate matter, PM2.5) is associated with adverse effects on human health was well as on air quality and climate change. In order to understand the formation, sources and behavior of ambient PM2.5, long-term continuous chemical characterization is essential, especially to aid in the development of effective control strategies. In this study, the Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) was redeployed at the Jefferson Street (JST) site in Atlanta, GA on February 08th, 2014 after sampling at the Look Rock Mountain site in TN during 2013 in order to continuous chemically characterize non-refractory PM with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 1 micro-meter (NR-PM1). The JST site is one of the research sites of the Southeastern Aerosol Research and Characterization (SEARCH) network that is equipped with a suite of collocated gas, particle, and meteorological measurements. In addition to the collocated SEARCH measurements, high-volume filter samplers were periodically operated to collect PM2.5 for subsequent off-line chemical analyses of organic aerosol constituents in order to compare with the ACSM data. The dataset was analyzed separately by season: winter, spring and summer. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the organic mass spectra measured by the ACSM in order to resolve potential sources. The preliminary results showed that organic aerosol dominated the major portion of atmospheric aerosol in winter (58%) and spring (62%). By applying PMF to characterize organic aerosols, three potential factors were identified in both winter and spring: hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA), low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA) and semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SV-OOA). These preliminary PMF results will be placed into context against JST collocated measurements and OA tracers measured from filters using off-line gas and liquid chromatographic methods both interfaced to mass spectrometry.