Seasonal Variation of PM2.5 and Its Major Ionic Components in an Urban Monitoring Site

• Published in: Asian journal of atmospheric environment (Online) Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 23 - 32
• Main Authors: Ghosh, Samik, Shon, Zang-Ho, Kim, Ki-Hyun, Song, Sang-Keun, Jung, Kweon, Kim, Nam-Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.03.2012; Springer; 한국대기환경학회
• Subjects: composition; diurnal; pm2.5; seasonal; source apportionment; 대기과학; Composition; Seasonal; PM; Diurnal; Source apportionment
• ISSN: 2287-1160; 1976-6912; 2287-1160
• DOI: 10.5572/ajae.2012.6.1.023

The ionic composition of PM 2.5 samples was investigated by their datasets of cationic (Na + , NH 4 + , K + , Mg 2+ , and Ca 2+ ) and anionic components (Cl − , NO 3 − , and SO 4 2− ) along with relevant environmental parameters collected from an urban monitoring site in Korea at hourly intervals in 2010. The mean (and SD) annual concentration of PM 2.5 was computed as 25.3 μg m −3 with the wintertime maximum. In addition, sum concentrations (neq m −3 ) of five cationic species (291) were slightly lower than 3 anionic species (308). Most cations exhibited the highest seasonal values in spring, while anions showed more diversified seasonal patterns. According to PCA, five major source categories were apparent with the relative dominance of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA). The results of our study suggest consistently that the distribution of ionic constituents in an urban area is affected by the combined effects of both natural and anthropogenic processes.