The influence of the North-Föhn on tracer organic compounds in ambient air PM10 at a pre-alpine site in Northern Italy

The ambient air in Northern Italy is characterised by relatively high PAH and PM₁₀ concentrations in relation to calm wind and intensive temperature inversions, especially during cold periods. These stagnant conditions are occasionally interrupted by North-Föhn events, which cause a drop in relative humidity and an increase in O₃ levels, indicating the mixing of local and free troposphere air flows. In this study the influence of the North-Föhn on concentrations of tracer organic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PM₁₀, O₃ and black carbon (BC) was studied during a North-Föhn event in November 2007. Large fluctuations in the concentration of these compounds, as well as changes in PM₁₀ composition due to daytime and night-time variations of local source emissions were observed. Although these events occur at low frequencies (6-10%) they can for short periods, strongly affect the regional air quality by quickly decreasing the concentrations of these tracer organic compounds.     

乌梁素海沉积物孔隙水中溶解有机质的荧光及紫外光谱研究

运用紫外可见光吸收光谱与荧光光谱研究乌梁素海沉积物孔隙水中溶解有机质的来源、结构及腐殖化程度。r_(A,C)、HIX、SUVA₂₈₀和SUVA₂₅₄等被用于表征DOM的腐殖化程度和芳香构化程度及结构,f_450/500用于指示DOM的来源。研究结果表明：腐殖化程度最高的点为湖泊东部的W4样点,腐殖化程度最低的为总排干影响区域的W1样点。E_253/203表明湖泊入口处沉积物孔隙水中有机质主要为不可取代的芳香环结构。荧光指数f_450/500为1.57～1.82之间。总体而言,f_450/500的值更接近于1.6,处于2个端源中间,说明乌梁素海DOM中的腐殖质主要来源于陆源输入。相关分析的结果表明, DOM的不同来源对其腐殖化程度产生影响。随着腐殖化值的增大,DOM的来源由生物源向陆源过渡。     

Impact of the global economic crisis on metal levels in particulate matter (PM) at an urban area in the Cantabria Region (Northern Spain)

Air pollution by particulate matter is well linked with anthropogenic activities; the global economic crisis that broke out in the last year may be a proper indicator of this close relationship. Some economic indicators show the regional effects of the crisis on the Cantabria Region. The present work aims to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis on PM10 levels and composition at the major city of the region, Santander. Some metals linked to anthropogenic activities were measured at Santander and studied by Positive Matrix Factorization; this statistical analysis allowed to identify three main factors: urban background, industrial and molybdenum-related factor. The main results show that the temporal trend of the levels of the industrial tracers found in the present study are well agree with the evolution of the studied economic indicators; nevertheless, the urban background tracers and PM10 concentration levels are not well correlated with the studied economic indicators.     

Two-stage chemical fractionation method for the analysis of elements and non-volatile inorganic ions in PM10 samples: Application to ambient samples collected in Rome (Italy)

A two-stage micro-analytical scheme for the determination of metals and ions in atmospheric particulate matter collected on only one Teflon filter was developed. In the first stage the collected particles are chemically fractionated for their solubility in a pH-buffered extracting solution; in the second stage the residue is mineralised. The major non-volatile inorganic ions (Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, Na⁺, NH₄⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) are determined in the first fraction by ion-chromatography (IC), while metals and metalloids (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, Se, Si, Ti, V, Zn) are determined in both the acetate extractable and the mineralised residual fractions by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).The procedure was applied to ambient 24-h PM₁₀ samples collected on Teflon filters during two field campaigns carried out at two sites in the area of Rome (Italy). The variations in the chemical composition of the collected particles during the two periods were interpreted in the light of the dilution properties of the lower atmosphere and of the back-trajectories of the air masses. The difference in the results between the two locations was interpreted in the light of their proximity to the emission sources. It was found that the acetate extractable and the mineralised residual fraction of some metals exhibit a different temporal pattern, suggesting the existence of different emission sources of the two fractions.