Radiocarbon Analysis of Elemental Carbon and Total Organic Carbon in Atmospheric Aerosols Collected at Cape Hedo, Okinawa, Japan
Abstract
A study was initiated to understand the sources and behaviors of carbon-containing compounds in the atmospheric aerosols in East Asian region. As an initial attempt, we collected airborne particulate matter (APM) with diameter <10 micrometer (PM10) in Okinawa, Japan and analyzed 14C/12C ratio in EC and total organic carbon (TOC) to apportion source of biomass and fossil fuel combustion in PM10 aerosols. Okinawa is situated approximately 1500 km south of Tokyo, Japan, 2000 km southeast of Beijing, China, and 1000 km south of South Korea. Its location in Asia is well suited for studying long-range transport of air pollutants in East Asia. Aerosol particles were collected at the Cape Hedo Atmosphere and Aerosol Monitoring Station (CHAAMS) in Okinawa, Japan. Each sample was collected for two weeks with a high-volume air sampler at a rate of 1000 L min-1 to collect aerosol particles on a quartz filter, which was pre-combusted before use to eliminate residual organic compounds. Radiocarbon is measured in AMS facility (NIES-TERRA) at National Institute for Environmental Studies after preparing graphite. The results showed that during Asian dust events in March and April, both APM and EC in PM10 aerosols collected in Okinawa, Japan were much higher than those of non-Asian dust event. The percent modern carbon (pMC) of EC and TOC was much smaller for the PM10 aerosols collected during Asian dust events than those of non-dust event. When maritime air mass prevailed, biomass originated organic compounds were the major TOC in the aerosols. We will report data on 14C/12C ratio of EC and TOC in PM10 aerosols collected at CHAAMS during March to October, 2008
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008AGUFM.A31A0073A
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345;
- 4801;
- 4906);
- 0322 Constituent sources and sinks;
- 0368 Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry;
- 0399 General or miscellaneous