Comparison of EC and BC and evaluation of dust aerosol contribution to light absorption in Xi'an, China

The concentrations of EC, BC and dust aerosols were determined for atmospheric samples collected from an observation station in Xi'an, China. The results show that the averaged correlation coefficient between EC and BC was founded to be 0.72 with 0.81 (n = 49) in autumn, 0.70 (n = 112) in winter and 0.69 (n = 57) in spring, respectively. Absorption coefficients of dust aerosol were estimated to be 2.7 m² g⁻¹ in autumn and 4.4 m² g⁻¹ in winter. The comparison of absorption coefficients of dust aerosol with those of BC implies that BC is the principal light-absorbing aerosol over Xi'an atmosphere. By combining thermal analysis of elemental carbon and dust contents in the aerosol samples, however, the fraction of dust absorption to total light absorption is estimated to be 19% in autumn and 31% in winter, respectively.