Ionic imbalance due to hydrogen carbonate from Asian dust

In an attempt to identify the ionic imbalance, hydrogen carbonate, HCO₃⁻ (bicarbonate), was determined together with the commonly determined nine major ions because the imbalance was frequently encountered in the chemical analysis of samples with high pHs. Titration method was applied for the determination of the samples with pH higher than 5.6. These samples amounted to 102 of the 1536 samples collected in Hokkaido, Northern Japan, from April 1998 to December 2002. Of the 102 samples, 74 (Group A) showed an acceptable ion balance without including HCO₃⁻. In the other 28 (Group B), however, inclusion of HCO₃⁻ successfully improved the ion balance. These results suggested that hydrogen carbonate was a potential candidate for explaining the imbalance. The hydrogen carbonate concentrations showed a strong correlation with the corresponding non-sea salt calcium (nss-Ca²⁺) concentrations, which implied that hydrogen carbonate was derived from calcium carbonate particles incorporated into falling raindrops or cloud droplets. For Group A, the relationship between hydrogen carbonate and the nss-calcium ion concentration was very similar to that for commonly suspended particles in Hokkaido. On the other hand, Group B exhibited a stronger but significantly different correlation. To the samples of Group B, a back-trajectory analysis was applied to demonstrate that the samples were associated with aerosol travelling from Northern China or Mongolia, which indicated that alkaline aerosol affected the chemistry. In consideration of these findings, the current standard of the ion balance should be critically reviewed for modification in regard to the contribution of hydrogen carbonate not only in source areas but also in receptor areas of alkaline aerosol.     

Exploratory Analysis of the Winter Chemistry of Five Lakes on the North Slope of Alaska1

Abstract: Lakes are important water resources on the North Slope of Alaska. Freshwater is required for oilfield production as well as exploration, which occurs largely on ice roads and pads. Since most North Slope lakes are shallow, the quantity and quality of the water under ice at the end of winter are important environmental management issues. Currently, water‐use permits are a function of the presence of overwintering fish populations, and their sensitivity to low oxygen concentrations. Sampling of five North Slope lakes during the winter of 2004‐2005 shed some light on the winter chemistry of four lakes that were used as water supplies and one undisturbed lake. Field analysis was conducted for oxygen, conductivity, pH, and temperature throughout the lake depth, as well as ice thickness and water depth. Water samples were retrieved from the lakes and analyzed for Na, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, dissolved‐organic carbon, and alkalinity in the laboratory. Lake properties, rather than pumping, were the best predictors of oxygen depletion, with the highest dissolved‐oxygen levels maintained in the lake with the lowest concentration of constituents. Volume weighted mean dissolved‐oxygen concentrations ranged from 4 to 94% of saturation in March. Dissolved oxygen and specific conductance data suggested that the lakes began to refresh in May.     

Long term changes in atmospheric N and S throughfall deposition and effects on soil solution chemistry in a Scots pine forest in the Netherlands

In a Scots pine forest the throughfall deposition and the chemical composition of the soil solution was monitored since 1984. (Inter)national legislation measures led to a reduction of the deposition of nitrogen and sulphur. The deposition of sulphur has decreased by approximately 65%. The total mineral-nitrogen deposition has decreased by ca. 25%, which is mainly due to a reduction in ammonium-N deposition (−40%), since nitrate-N deposition has increased (+50%). The nitrogen concentration in the upper mineral soil solution at 10 cm depth has decreased, leading to an improved nutritional balance, which may result in improved tree vitality. In the drainage water at 90 cm depth the fluxes of NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻ have decreased, resulting in a reduced leeching of accompanying base cations, thus preserving nutrients in the ecosystem. It may take still several years, however, before this will meet the prerequisite of a sustainable ecosystem.     

Analysis of the Trend and Seasonal Cycle of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in an Urban Area (4 pp)

Background, Aim and Scope Air quality is an field of major concern in large cities. This problem has led administrations to introduce plans and regulations to reduce pollutant emissions. The analysis of variations in the concentration of pollutants is useful when evaluating the effectiveness of these plans. However, such an analysis cannot be undertaken using standard statistical techniques, due to the fact that concentrations of atmospheric pollutants often exhibit a lack of normality and are autocorrelated. On the other hand, if long-term trends of any pollutant’s emissions are to be detected, meteorological effects must be removed from the time series analysed, due to their strong masking effects. Materials and Methods The application of statistical methods to analyse temporal variations is illustrated using monthly carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed at an urban site. The sampling site is located at a street intersection in central Valencia (Spain) with a high traffic density. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It is a typical Mediterranean city in terms of its urban structure and climatology. The sampling site started operation in January 1994 and monitored CO ground level concentrations until February 2002. Its geographic coordinates are W0°22′52″ N39°28′05″ and its altitude is 11 m. Two nonparametric trend tests are applied. One of these is robust against serial correlation with regards to the false rejection rate, when observations have a strong persistence or when the sample size per month is small. A nonparametric analysis of the homogeneity of trends between seasons is also discussed. A multiple linear regression model is used with the transformed data, including the effect of meteorological variables. The method of generalized least squares is applied to estimate the model parameters to take into account the serial dependence of the residuals of this model. This study also assesses temporal changes using the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter. The KZ filter has been shown to be an effective way to remove the influence of meteorological conditions on O₃ and PM to examine underlying trends. Results The nonparametric tests indicate a decreasing, significant trend in the sampled site. The application of the linear model yields a significant decrease every twelve months of 15.8% for the average monthly CO concentration. The 95% confidence interval for the trend ranges from 13.9% to 17.7%. The seasonal cycle also provides significant results. There are no differences in trends throughout the months. The percentage of CO variance explained by the linear model is 90.3%. The KZ filter separates out long, short-term and seasonal variations in the CO series. The estimated, significant, long-term trend every year results in 10.3% with this method. The 95% confidence interval ranges from 8.8% to 11.9%. This approach explains 89.9% of the CO temporal variations. Discussion The differences between the linear model and KZ filter trend estimations are due to the fact that the KZ filter performs the analysis on the smoothed data rather than the original data. In the KZ filter trend estimation, the effect of meteorological conditions has been removed. The CO short-term componentis attributable to weather and short-term fluctuations in emissions. There is a significant seasonal cycle. This component is a result of changes in the traffic, the yearly meteorological cycle and the interactions between these two factors. There are peaks during the autumn and winter months, which have more traffic density in the sampled site. There is a minimum during the month of August, reflecting the very low level of vehicle emissions which is a direct consequence of the holiday period. Conclusions The significant, decreasing trend implies to a certain extent that the urban environment in the area is improving. This trend results from changes in overall emissions, pollutant transport, climate, policy and economics. It is also due to the effect of introducing reformulated gasoline. The additives enable vehicles to burn fuel with a higher air/fuel ratio, thereby lowering the emission of CO. The KZ filter has been the most effective method to separate the CO series components and to obtain an estimate of the long-term trend due to changes in emissions, removing the effect of meteorological conditions. Recommendations and Perspectives Air quality managers and policy-makers must understand the link between climate and pollutants to select optimal pollutant reduction strategies and avoid exceeding emission directives. This paper analyses eight years of ambient CO data at a site with a high traffic density, and provides results that are useful for decision-making. The assessment of long-term changes in air pollutants to evaluate reduction strategies has to be done while taking into account meteorological variability     

Using Lichen Chemistry to Assess Airborne Tungsten and Cobalt in Fallon, Nevada

This paper describes the use of lichen chemistry to assess airborne tungsten and cobalt in Fallon, Nevada, where a cluster of childhood leukemia has been on going since 1997. Lichens and their rock substrates were collected from Rattlesnake Hill within Fallon as well as from four different rock outcrops located north, east, south, and west of Fallon and at least 20 km away from the town center. In the lichens themselves, W and Co are significantly higher within Fallon than in the combined control site outside of Fallon. In the rock substrates of the lichens, no differences exist in W and Co. The W and Co differences in lichens cannot be attributed to substrate geochemistry. Fallon is distinctive in west central Nevada for high airborne W and Co, and given its cluster of childhood leukemia, it stands to reason that additional biomedical research is in order to test directly the leukogenicity of combined airborne W and Co.     

Role of glycine on sulfuric acid-ammonia clusters formation: Transporter or participator

Glycine(Gly) is ubiquitous in the atmosphere and plays a vital role in new particle formation(NPF).However,the potential mechanism of its on sulfuric acid(SA)-ammonia(A)clusters formation under various atmospheric conditions is still ambiguous.Herein,a(Gly)_x·(SA)_y·(A)_z(z≤x+y≤3) multicomponent system was investigated by using density functional theory(DFT) combined with Atmospheric Cluster Dynamics Code(ACDC) at different temperatures and precursor concentrations.The results show that Gly,with one carboxyl(-COOH) and one amine(-NH_2) group,can interact strongly with SA and A in two directions through hydrogen bonds or proton transfer.Within the relevant range of atmospheric concentrations,Gly can enhance the formation rate of SA-A-based clusters,especially at low temperature,low [SA],and median [A].The enhancement(R) of Gly on NPF can be up to 340 at T=218.15 K,[SA]=10~4,[A]=10~9,and [Gly]=10~7 molecules/cm~3.In addition,the main growth paths of clusters show that Gly molecules participate into cluster formation in the initial stage and eventually leave the cluster by evaporation in subsequent cluster growth at low [Gly],it acts as an important "transporter" to connect the smaller and larger cluster.With the increase of [Gly],it acts as a "participator" directly participating in NPF.     

杭州湾北岸36种挥发性有机物污染特征及来源解析

为研究杭州湾北岸VOCs（挥发性有机物）的浓度水平、组成特征、反应活性和潜在来源,采用GC-FID在线监测系统对杭州湾北岸环境大气中的36种VOCs开展了为期1 a（2017年12月-2018年11月）的连续观测,采用LOH（VOCs的·OH消耗速率）和OFP（O₃生成潜势）2种方法估算了大气VOCs的反应活性,并利用PMF（正定矩阵因子分解）和CPF（条件概率函数）模型分析其来源.结果表明:①φ（VOCs）小时平均值在冬季（26.47×10-9）最高,夏季（9.76×10-9）最低;全年φ（VOCs）小时平均值为21.24×10-9,其中烷烃、烯烃+炔烃、芳香烃、卤代烃的贡献率分别为33.24%、34.13%、15.63%、17.00%;φ（烷烃）、φ（芳香烃）和φ（卤代烃）呈较明显的昼夜变化特征,φ（烯烃）和φ（炔烃）无明显昼夜变化趋势.②大气VOCs的总LOH和OFP分别为9.39 s-1和220.57 μg/m3,KOH（·OH反应速率常数）和MIR（最大增量反应活性）系数的平均值分别为17.34×10-12 cm3/（molecule·s）和3.31;KOH和MIR系数的平均值分别与间/对-二甲苯的KOH和乙苯的MIR系数接近,表明大气VOCs的化学反应活性较强;VOCs关键活性物种为异戊二烯、乙烯、丙烯、甲苯、二甲苯和顺-2-丁烯.③特征物种相关性分析表明,杭州湾北岸大气存在老化现象,异戊烷和正戊烷受煤燃烧源影响较大,二甲苯和乙苯受溶剂排放源影响较大,甲苯和苯除受机动车尾气影响外,还受其他排放源影响.④PMF和CPF模型来源分析表明,大气VOCs主要来自石化工业源、燃料挥发源、生物质燃烧和煤燃烧源、机动车排放源和溶剂使用源,其中,机动车排放源主要来自西北方向,其他源主要来自西北、西和西南方向.研究显示,杭州湾北岸大气VOCs来源复杂,受周边工业区的影响较大.      

龙岩市区大气颗粒物中多环芳烃的种类和时空分布特征及来源

采用恒能量同步荧光法检测了龙岩市大气颗粒物样品中的多环芳烃(PAHs),比较了龙岩市区大气颗粒物中多环芳烃含量的差异以及不同季节对多环芳烃含量的影响,讨论了其分布规律及污染源。     

大气污染物影响因素的灰色关联分析

运用灰色系统理论，对产生和影响城市大气主要污染物的相关因素，利用灰色关联分析方法进行了量化分析研究，根据研究结果，提出了控制大气污染的防治对策．     

大气微生物与气象条件及大气污染物的灰色关联分析

根据大气微生物浓度、气象因子和大气污染理化因子的监测结果，应用灰色关联分析原理，分析研究大气微生物浓度与气象条件和大气污染物的关联程度，说明气象因子对各类微生物浓度的影响大于大气污染因子，特别是对耐高渗透压霉菌。