Filter-based measurement of light absorption by brown carbon in PM2.5 in a megacity in South China

The Science of the Total Environment
Sheng LiXin-ming Wang

Abstract

Carbonaceous aerosols represent an important nexus between air pollution and climate change. Here we collected filter-based PM2.5 samples during summer and autumn in 2015 at one urban and two rural sites in Guangzhou, a megacity in southern China, and got the light absorption by black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) resolved with a DRI Model 2015 multi-wavelength thermal/optical carbon analyzer apart from determining the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) contents. On average BrC contributed 12-15% of the measured absorption at 405nm (LA405) during summer and 15-19% during autumn with significant increase in the LA405 by BrC at the rural sites. Carbonaceous aerosols, identified as total carbon (TC), yielded average mass absorption efficiency at 405nm (MAE405) that were approximately 45% higher in autumn than in summer, an 83% increase was noted in the average MAE405 for OC, compared with an increase of only 14% in the average MAE405 for EC. The LA405 by BrC showed a good correlation (p<0.001) with the ratios of secondary OC to PM2.5 in summer. However, this correlation was poor (p>0.1) in autumn, implying greater secondary formation of BrC in summer. The correlations between levoglucosan (a marker of biomass burni...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 4, 2019·The Science of the Total Environment·E LiakakouN Mihalopoulos
Feb 28, 2021·Journal of Environmental Sciences (China)·Wenyu ZhangMaofa Ge
Aug 13, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Runqi ZhangXinming Wang

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