Organic tracers in fine and coarse aerosols at an urban Mediterranean site: contribution of biomass burning and biogenic emissions.

The concentrations of anhydrosugars (levoglucosan, mannosan, and galactosan), polyols (inositol, xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol), and glucose were measured in PM1 and PM10 samples collected during 1 year at a traffic site in the city of Elche (southeastern Spain). Levoglucosan, mannosan, and galactosan were mainly found in the PM1 fraction since they are mainly emitted from biomass burning (BB). Likewise, inositol, xylitol, and sorbitol were primarily distributed in the fine mode, suggesting a non-negligible contribution from anthropogenic sources (specifically BB) to the levels of these compounds. This was supported by their seasonal variations, with higher concentrations during winter, and their correlations with levoglucosan concentrations. The average contributions of biomass burning and biogenic sources to OC and PM levels were calculated using levoglucosan and mannitol, respectively, as tracers. On average, BB accounted for 12% and 16% of the OC in PM1 and PM10, while the estimated contribution of fungal spores to OC and PM10 levels was 1.2 and 0.8%, respectively. The results of the present study suggest that, at least in the study area, most sugar alcohols are not appropriate tracers of biogenic emissions.

Changes in the concentration and composition of urban aerosols during the COVID-19 lockdown.

This work investigates the impact of COVID-19 restrictive measures on the mass concentrations of PM1 and PM10, and their chemical components (water-soluble ions, organic and elemental carbon, and major and trace metals) at an urban site in the western Mediterranean. The evolution of gaseous pollutants (NOx, O3 and some volatile organic compounds) was also analyzed. The concentrations measured during the lockdown in 2020 were compared to those obtained during the same period over the preceding five years. The average decrease in the levels of NOx and traffic-related volatile organic compounds was higher than 50 %, while O3 concentrations did not exhibit significant variations during the study period. Our results show that temporal variations in PM1 and PM10 concentrations were strongly affected by the frequency of Saharan dust events. When these episodes were excluded from the analysis period, a 35 % decrease in PM1 and PM10 levels was observed. Traffic restrictions during the lockdown led to important reductions in the concentrations of elemental carbon and metals derived from road dust (e.g. Ca and Fe) and break wear (e.g. Cu). Regarding secondary inorganic aerosols, nitrate showed the largest reductions as a consequence of the drop in local emissions of NOx.

PM10 chemical composition at a residential site in the western mediterranean: Estimation of the contribution of biomass burning from levoglucosan and its isomers.

The composition of PM10, including molecular markers of biomass burning (levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan), was determined at a residential site in southeastern Spain during winter and early spring. The average PM10 concentration was 25.0 µg m-3, being organic carbon (OC, 6.77 µg m-3), NO3- (2.02 µg m-3), SO42- (1.36 µg m-3) and Ca2+ (1.01 µg m-3) the main components. Levoglucosan was the dominant anhydrosugar (143 ng m-3), accounting for 81% of the total concentration of monosaccharide anhydrides. The average contribution of biomass combustion to OC, estimated from the levoglucosan data, was 23%. This value agreed well with that calculated by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF, 25%). The PMF model resolved six factors that were assigned to road traffic (28%), secondary aerosols (27%), soil dust (14%), fresh sea salt (13%), aged sea salt (10%) and biomass burning (8%). This model was used to estimate the OC/Levoglucosan and PM10/Levoglucosan emission ratios for the study area.

PM events and changes in the chemical composition of urban aerosols: A case study in the western Mediterranean.

More than 400 PM1 and 400 PM10 daily samples were collected in the urban center of Elche (close to the Spanish Mediterranean coast) from February 2015 to February 2018. Samples were analyzed to determine the concentrations of major and trace components with the aim of evaluating the influence of specific pollution events on the chemical composition of both PM fractions. The concentrations of crustal elements in PM10 significantly increased during Saharan dust outbreaks, particularly titanium, which has been identified as a good tracer of these events in the study area. Sulfate and nitrate levels were also enhanced due to secondary aerosol formation on mineral dust particles. Local pollution episodes had a great impact on submicron nitrate, whose mean concentration was more than four times higher than on non-event days. The chemical mass closure method was used to reconstruct PM1 and PM10 concentrations. Reasonably good correlations between measured and reconstructed concentrations were obtained, except for PM10 samples collected during Saharan dust events. This was due to the underestimation of the dust contribution during these episodes. Moderate differences in the average chemical composition of PM10 were observed between event and non-event days. Regarding PM1, only local pollution episodes had a certain impact on its chemical composition.

Regional and long-range transport of aerosols at Mt. Aitana, Southeastern Spain.

More than 150 particulate matter (PM) samples with aerodynamic diameters smaller than 1 and 10µm (PM1 and PM10, respectively) were collected during an 18-month sampling campaign at Mt. Aitana (1558m a.s.l.), located in the western Mediterranean basin. PM samples were analyzed for water-soluble ions, carbonaceous species and trace metals using standard procedures. Average mass concentrations of PM1 and PM10 were, respectively, 5.0 and 13.3µgm-3. PM1 was composed mostly of organic carbon and ammonium sulfate, while nitrate and crustal elements were major components of the PM10 fraction. A significant positive correlation was determined between PM10 and mineral elements such as Ca or Fe. The study of the influence of air mass origin upon PM mass concentrations and composition showed that Saharan dust outbreaks were associated with the highest PM10 levels (24.9µgm-3 average during African events). Nitrate and crustal components were also considerably increased during these episodes, especially Ti and Fe (~190% higher compared with the average value for the whole study period). The results indicate that Ca/Ti and Ca/Fe ratios can be considered reliable indicators of Saharan dust intrusions.

High-time resolution and size-segregated elemental composition in high-intensity pyrotechnic exposures.

Typical of festivals in Eastern Spain, mascletàs are high-intensity pyrotechnic events where thousands of firecrackers are burnt in an intense, rapid episode that generates short-lived heavy aerosol clouds. High temporal resolution and size distribution characterisation of aerosol components were performed to evaluate the effects of the brief (<30 min) and acute exposure on the spectators present. Very high concentrations of firework specific elements, especially in the fine fraction, were reached during mascletàs, with values of about 500 µg/m(3) for K and 300 µg/m(3) for Cl. Sr, Al, Mg, Ba, Cu, Co, Zn, and Pb concentration increase factors of more than 100 (1000 for Sr and Ba) were observed in the fine fraction with respect to background levels. Crustal origin elements, like Ca, Fe, Si, Ti, also showed an important concentration rise (~10 times above background levels) but this is due to dust resuspension by pyrotechnic explosions. The crustal components are mainly in the coarse mode (>90% elemental mass), between 2 and 3 µm. Most firework related metals are concentrated in the submicrometric region (>80%) with a trimodal size distribution. This may be interesting to epidemiologists given the toxic effects that such fine, metal-rich particles can have on human health.