Semi-continuous measurement of PM2.5 ionic composition at several rural locations in the United States

Taehyoung Lee; Xiao Ying Yu; Sonia M. Kreidenweis; William C. Malm; Jeffrey L. Collett

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.04.023

Semi-continuous measurement of PM_2.5 ionic composition at several rural locations in the United States

Taehyoung Lee, Xiao Ying Yu, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, William C. Malm, Jeffrey L. Collett

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

To improve understanding of the nature and variability of the ionic fraction of atmospheric fine aerosol particles in non-urban environments, one to two month measurement campaigns were conducted at several rural locations in the United States. Study sites included Yosemite National Park (NP) (July-September 2002), Bondville, Illinois (February 2003), San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, California (April and July 2003), Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (May 2003), Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), New Jersey (November 2003), and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (July/August 2004). PM_2.5 ion composition was measured at 15 min intervals using a Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler (PILS) coupled to two ion chromatographs. Comparisons of PILS measurements with parallel traditional 24 h denuder/filter-pack measurements reveal generally good agreement between the two techniques for major species, although PILS measurements of PM_2.5 NH₄⁺ are biased low by approximately 4-20%. High time resolution PILS aerosol concentration measurements provide better estimates of the range of aerosol concentrations at the rural locations than the 24 h integrated filter data. Ratios of peak 15 min to 24 h nitrate concentrations, for example, ranged from 1.7 at Brigantine NWR to 7.0 at Great Smoky Mountains NP. A strong influence of diurnal upslope/downslope transport patterns was observed on aerosol concentrations at several locations, including Yosemite NP, San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, and Great Smoky Mountains NP, with peak concentrations typically occurring during afternoon upslope transport. High time resolution aerosol composition measurements also provide new insight into relationships between individual aerosol species and the influence of environmental conditions on aerosol composition. Observations at several locations revealed important information about mechanisms of particle nitrate formation. At Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks, for example, evidence was observed for reaction of nitric acid or its precursors with sea salt or soil dust. Observations from several sites also revealed the importance of aerosol acidity (Great Smoky Mountains NP, Bondville) and temperature/humidity (San Gorgonio) on fine particle ammonium nitrate formation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	6655-6669
Number of pages	15
Journal	Atmospheric Environment
Volume	42
Issue number	27
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.04.023
State	Published - Sep 2008
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The authors thank the National Park Service for financial support of this work. We thank C. McDade and the IMPROVE team at UC Davis for outstanding support in field support preparation and study logistics. We also thank B. Ayres, J. Carrillo, and C. Hale of CSU for assistance with field campaign planning and preparations. We are grateful to numerous individuals working at each of the field sites for providing site access and/or logistical assistance, including M. Snider in Bondville, H. Abreu at Grand Canyon, M. Arbough and D. Jones at San Gorgonio, S. Perchetti at Brigantine, and J. Renfro and B. Stroik at Great Smoky Mountains.

Funders	Funder number
National Park Service

Keywords

Continuous measurements
PM composition
Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler
Temporal variability

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.04.023

Cite this

@article{539c17068d48438487b2597c6f031116,

title = "Semi-continuous measurement of PM2.5 ionic composition at several rural locations in the United States",

abstract = "To improve understanding of the nature and variability of the ionic fraction of atmospheric fine aerosol particles in non-urban environments, one to two month measurement campaigns were conducted at several rural locations in the United States. Study sites included Yosemite National Park (NP) (July-September 2002), Bondville, Illinois (February 2003), San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, California (April and July 2003), Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (May 2003), Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), New Jersey (November 2003), and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (July/August 2004). PM2.5 ion composition was measured at 15 min intervals using a Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler (PILS) coupled to two ion chromatographs. Comparisons of PILS measurements with parallel traditional 24 h denuder/filter-pack measurements reveal generally good agreement between the two techniques for major species, although PILS measurements of PM2.5 NH4+ are biased low by approximately 4-20%. High time resolution PILS aerosol concentration measurements provide better estimates of the range of aerosol concentrations at the rural locations than the 24 h integrated filter data. Ratios of peak 15 min to 24 h nitrate concentrations, for example, ranged from 1.7 at Brigantine NWR to 7.0 at Great Smoky Mountains NP. A strong influence of diurnal upslope/downslope transport patterns was observed on aerosol concentrations at several locations, including Yosemite NP, San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, and Great Smoky Mountains NP, with peak concentrations typically occurring during afternoon upslope transport. High time resolution aerosol composition measurements also provide new insight into relationships between individual aerosol species and the influence of environmental conditions on aerosol composition. Observations at several locations revealed important information about mechanisms of particle nitrate formation. At Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks, for example, evidence was observed for reaction of nitric acid or its precursors with sea salt or soil dust. Observations from several sites also revealed the importance of aerosol acidity (Great Smoky Mountains NP, Bondville) and temperature/humidity (San Gorgonio) on fine particle ammonium nitrate formation.",

keywords = "Continuous measurements, PM composition, Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler, Temporal variability",

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T1 - Semi-continuous measurement of PM2.5 ionic composition at several rural locations in the United States

AU - Lee, Taehyoung

AU - Yu, Xiao Ying

AU - Kreidenweis, Sonia M.

AU - Malm, William C.

AU - Collett, Jeffrey L.

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AB - To improve understanding of the nature and variability of the ionic fraction of atmospheric fine aerosol particles in non-urban environments, one to two month measurement campaigns were conducted at several rural locations in the United States. Study sites included Yosemite National Park (NP) (July-September 2002), Bondville, Illinois (February 2003), San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, California (April and July 2003), Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (May 2003), Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), New Jersey (November 2003), and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (July/August 2004). PM2.5 ion composition was measured at 15 min intervals using a Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler (PILS) coupled to two ion chromatographs. Comparisons of PILS measurements with parallel traditional 24 h denuder/filter-pack measurements reveal generally good agreement between the two techniques for major species, although PILS measurements of PM2.5 NH4+ are biased low by approximately 4-20%. High time resolution PILS aerosol concentration measurements provide better estimates of the range of aerosol concentrations at the rural locations than the 24 h integrated filter data. Ratios of peak 15 min to 24 h nitrate concentrations, for example, ranged from 1.7 at Brigantine NWR to 7.0 at Great Smoky Mountains NP. A strong influence of diurnal upslope/downslope transport patterns was observed on aerosol concentrations at several locations, including Yosemite NP, San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, and Great Smoky Mountains NP, with peak concentrations typically occurring during afternoon upslope transport. High time resolution aerosol composition measurements also provide new insight into relationships between individual aerosol species and the influence of environmental conditions on aerosol composition. Observations at several locations revealed important information about mechanisms of particle nitrate formation. At Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks, for example, evidence was observed for reaction of nitric acid or its precursors with sea salt or soil dust. Observations from several sites also revealed the importance of aerosol acidity (Great Smoky Mountains NP, Bondville) and temperature/humidity (San Gorgonio) on fine particle ammonium nitrate formation.

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