A multipoint (49 points) study of dry deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Erzurum, Turkey by using surrogated snow surface samplers

Abstract

Dry deposition of atmospheric 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) components was investigated in the scope of the study by using surrogate snow samplers at 49 different sampling points in and around the city center of Erzurum, Turkey. Snow was sampled twice, the first of which was taken immediately after the first fresh snow cover and placed into aluminum trays to obtain dry deposition surface while the second sample was taken from the snow cover (accumulated snow) exposed to an 8-day dry deposition period and then analyzed and extracted. All the samples taken from the samplers were extracted using solid and liquid phase extraction and analyzed through GC-MS. It was observed that at the end of an 8-day dry period, snow samples enriched 5.5 times more in PAH components than the baseline. PAH deposition was determined to be influenced mainly by coal, mixed source, traffic, diesel fuel, and petrol fuel at 43, 27, 20, 8, and 2 % of sampling points, respectively. Local polluting sources were found to be effective on the spatial distribution of dry deposition of PAH components in urban area.