Limestone surfaces in built-up environment as indicators of atmospheric pollution

The concentration of sulphate on limestone surfaces of the external walls of churches in Malta is shown to be related to their position and distance from a power station, the main local point source of sulphur dioxide pollution. Limestone powder collected from these surfaces was examined for the presence of particles which, under low-power optical microscopy, appear as shiny black amorphous bodies which were interpreted as soot particles; the abundance of these bodies was expressed as a black particle count (BPC). The degree of sulphation and BPC were shown to be correlated with each other and both appeared to be strongly dependent on the prevailing wind. The BPC contour map indicated an important contribution to the parameter from vehicular traffic. It is suggested that the degree of sulphation and BPC of limestone surfaces from the built environment should function as environmental indicators of the relative air quality with respect to SO₂ and soot pollution. This data is possibly more accurately representative of the relative long-term air-quality status of different areas of habitation than that deduced from single or episodic measurements of atmospheric pollutant levels.     

乌鲁木齐市硫酸盐化速率浓度水平的时空分布特征

以2005-2009年乌鲁木齐市城市硫酸盐化速率数据为依据,研究了乌鲁木齐市城市硫酸盐化速率的浓度水平和变化规律,并用Arc-Gis绘出了乌鲁木齐市硫酸盐化速率的空间分布图,分析探讨了防治措施。