Fossil and non-fossil sources of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in Goteborg, Sweden

• Particulate matter was collected at an urban site in G¨oteborg (Sweden) in February/ March 2005 and in June/July 2006. Additional samples were collected at a rural site for the winter period. Elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), water-insoluble OC (WINSOC), and water-soluble OC (WSOC) were analyzed for 14C in order to distinguish fossil from non-fossil emissions. As wood burning is the single major source of non-fossil EC, its contribution can be quantified directly. For non-fossil OC, the wood burning fraction was determined independently by levoglucosan and 14C analysis and combined using Latin-hypercube sampling (LHS). For the winter period, the relative contribution of EC from wood burning to the total EC was >3 times higher at the rural site compared to the urban site, whereas the absolute concentrations of EC from wood burning were comparable at both sites. Thus, the urban site is substantially more influenced by fossil EC emissions. For summer, biogenic emissions dominated OC concentrations most likely due to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. During both seasons, a more pronounced fossil signal was observed for Go¨teborg than has previously been reported for Zurich, Switzerland. Analysis of air mass origin using back trajectories suggests that the fossil impact was larger when local sources dominated, whereas long-range transport caused an enhanced non-fossil signal. In comparison to other European locations, concentrations of levoglucosan and other monosaccharide anhydrides were low for the urban and the rural site in the area of Go¨teborg during winter. The comparison of summer and winter results provides insight into the annual cycle of anthropogenic vs. biogenic contributions to the atmospheric aerosol.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

art (subject category)