Seasonal variation of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons along the Kaohsiung coast

Thirty-three air samples were collected by high-volume samplers from May 2007 to June 2008 in the coastal area of southwest Taiwan and analyzed for total suspended particulates (TSP) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Concentrations of TSP and total PAHs ranged from 40.4 to 251 μg m(-3) and 1.86-56.4 ng m(-3), respectively. Except for joss paper burning during the religious celebration of Ghost Month, which resulted in the highest concentration of PAHs in the summer of 2007, a seasonal variation in total PAH concentration was observed over this study period, with the highest concentrations in winter and the lowest in summer. Because of the geographical and climatic characteristics of the sampling site, monsoon activities modulate the seasonal variations of PAHs. Diagnostic ratios showed that PAHs in the atmosphere of the Kaohsiung coastal area arose predominantly from vehicle emissions (mainly from diesel exhaust), joss paper burning, and coal/wood combustion. The results of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the sampling days could be divided into three groups and that the major source identification of PAHs was the same as the identification by diagnostic ratios. In addition, the results of HCA and PCA suggest that the samples collected with a prevailing northerly or northeasterly wind direction contain both local emissions and those from neighboring sources. On the other hand, the cases related to westerly or northwesterly winds indicated that local emission was the major source for the sampling site.