1. Sources and processes that control the submicron organic aerosol composition in an urban Mediterranean environment (Athens) : a high temporal-resolution chemical composition measurement studyIasonas Stavroulas, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Georgios Grivas, D. Paraskevopoulou, M. Tsagkaraki, Pavlos Zarmpas, Eleni Liakakou, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: Submicron aerosol chemical composition was studied during a year-long
period (26 July 2016–31 July 2017) and two wintertime intensive campaigns
(18 December 2013–21 February 2014 and 23 December 2015–17 February 2016),
at a central site in Athens, Greece, using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation
Monitor (ACSM). Concurrent measurements included a particle-into-liquid
sampler (PILS-IC), a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), an AE-33
Aethalometer, and ion chromatography analysis on 24 or 12 h filter samples.
The aim of the study was to characterize the seasonal variability of the main
submicron aerosol constituents and decipher the sources of organic aerosol
(OA). Organics were found to contribute almost half of the submicron mass,
with 30 min resolution concentrations during wintertime reaching up to
200 µg m−3. During winter (all three campaigns combined),
primary sources contributed about 33 % of the organic fraction, and comprised
biomass burning (10 %), fossil fuel combustion (13 %), and cooking
(10 %), while the remaining 67 % was attributed to secondary aerosol.
The semi-volatile component of the oxidized organic aerosol (SV-OOA;
22 %) was found to be clearly linked to combustion sources, in
particular biomass burning; part of the very oxidized,
low-volatility component (LV-OOA; 44 %) could also be attributed to the
oxidation of emissions from these primary combustion sources. These results, based on the combined contribution of biomass burning organic
aerosol (BBOA) and SV-OOA, indicate the importance of increased biomass
burning in the urban environment of Athens as a result of the economic recession.
During summer, when concentrations of fine aerosols are considerably lower,
more than 80 % of the organic fraction is attributed to secondary aerosol
(SV-OOA 31 % and LV-OOA 53 %). In contrast to winter, SV-OOA appears
to result from a well-mixed type of aerosol that is linked to fast photochemical
processes and the oxidation of primary traffic and biogenic emissions.
Finally, LV-OOA presents a more regional character in summer, owing to the
oxidation of OA over the period of a few days.
Keywords: ACSM, organic aerosol, PMF, source apportionment
Published in RUNG: 13.05.2024; Views: 139; Downloads: 2
 Full text (4,65 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
2. Online chemical characterization and sources of submicron aerosol in the major mediterranean port city of Piraeus, GreeceIasonas Stavroulas, Georgios Grivas, Eleni Liakakou, Panayiotis Kalkavouras, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Maria Lianou, Kyriaki Papoutsidaki, M. Tsagkaraki, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Pavlos Zarmpas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Port cities are affected by a wide array of emissions, including those from the shipping, road transport, and residential sectors; therefore, the characterization and apportionment of such sources in a high temporal resolution is crucial. This study presents measurements of fine aerosol chemical composition in Piraeus, one of the largest European ports, during two monthly periods (winter vs. summer) in 2018–2019, using online instrumentation (Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor—ACSM, 7-λ aethalometer). PMF source apportionment was performed on the ACSM mass spectra to quantify organic aerosol (OA) components, while equivalent black carbon (BC) was decomposed to its fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning (BB) fractions. The combined traffic, shipping and, especially, residential emissions led to considerably elevated submicron aerosol levels (22.8 μg m−3) in winter, which frequently became episodic late at night under stagnant conditions. Carbonaceous compounds comprised the major portion of this submicron aerosol in winter, with mean OA and BC contributions of 61% (13.9 μg m−3) and 16% (3.7 μg m−3), respectively. The contribution of BB to BC concentrations was considerable and spatially uniform. OA related to BB emissions (fresh and processed) and hydrocarbon-like OA (from vehicular traffic and port-related fossil fuel emissions including shipping) accounted for 37% and 30% of OA, respectively. In summer, the average PM1 concentration was significantly lower (14.8 μg m−3) and less variable, especially for the components associated with secondary aerosols (such as OA and sulfate). The effect of the port sector was evident in summer and maintained BC concentrations at high levels (2.8 μg m−3), despite the absence of BB and improved atmospheric dispersion. Oxygenated components yielded over 70% of OA in summer, with the more oxidized secondary component of regional origin being dominant (41%) despite the intensity of local sources, in the Piraeus environment. In general, with respect to local sources that can be the target of mitigation policies, this work highlights the importance of port-related activities but also reveals the extensive wintertime impact of residential wood burning. While a separation of the BB source is feasible, more research is needed on how to disentangle the short-term effects of different fossil-fuel combustion sources.
Keywords: Athens, harbor, shipping emissions, PM1, chemical speciation, organic aerosol, black carbon, ACSM, aethalometer, PMF
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 126; Downloads: 2
 Link to file
This document has many files! More... |
3. The potential of high temporal resolution automatic measurements of ▫$PM_2.5$▫ composition as an alternative to the filter-based manual method used in routine monitoringMarsailidh M. Twigg, Chiara F. Di Marco, Elizabeth A. McGhee, Christine F. Braban, Eiko Nemitz, Richard J. C. Brown, Kevin C. Blakley, Sarah R. Leeson, Agnieszka Sanocka, Marta Via, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: PM2.5, inorganic aerosol, ACSM, HR-TOF-AMS, MARGA, AIM
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 118; Downloads: 1
Full text (998,72 KB) |
4. Cooking as an organic aerosol source leading to urban air quality degradationIasonas Stavroulas, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Georgios Grivas, Eleni Liakakou, Kalliopi Petrinoli, Konstantinos Kourtidis, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, 2024, original scientific article Keywords: ACSM, PMF, cooking organic aerosol, meat charbroiling
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 123; Downloads: 0
This document has many files! More... |
5. The effect of the averaging period for PMF analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer measurements during offline applicationsChristina Vasilakopoulou, Iasonas Stavroulas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Spyros N. Pandis, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Offline aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements can
provide valuable information about ambient organic aerosols in areas and
periods in which online AMS measurements are not available. However, these
offline measurements have a low temporal resolution, as they are based on
filter samples usually collected over 24 h. In this study, we examine
whether and how this low time resolution affects source apportionment
results. We used a five-month period (November 2016–March 2017) of online
measurements in Athens, Greece, and performed positive matrix factorization (PMF)
analysis to both the original dataset, which consists of 30 min
measurements, and to time averages from 1 up to 24 h. The 30 min results
indicated that five factors were able to represent the ambient organic
aerosol (OA): a biomass burning organic aerosol factor (BBOA), which contributed
16 % of the total OA; hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) (29 %); cooking OA (COA) (20 %); more-oxygenated OA (MO-OOA) (18 %); and less-oxygenated OA (LO-OOA) (17 %). Use of the daily averages resulted in estimated average contributions that were within 8 % of the total OA compared with the high-resolution analysis for the five-month period. The most important difference was for the BBOA contribution, which was overestimated (25 % for low resolution versus 17 % for high resolution) when daily averages were used. The estimated secondary OA varied from 35 % to 28 % when the averaging
interval varied between 30 min and 24 h. The high-resolution results are
expected to be more accurate, both because they are based on much larger
datasets and because they are based on additional information about the
temporal source variability. The error for the low-resolution analysis was
much higher for individual days, and its results for high-concentration days in particular are quite uncertain. The low-resolution analysis
introduces errors in the determined AMS profiles for the BBOA and LO-OOA
factors but determines the rest relatively accurately (theta angle around
10∘ or less).
Keywords: AMS, offline PMF, ACSM, organic aerosols
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 133; Downloads: 3
Full text (3,75 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
