Elevated nitrogen-containing particles observed in Asian dust aerosol samples collected at the marine boundary layer of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

Abstract

Abstract. Low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis (low-Z particle EPMA) shows powerful advantages for the characterization of ambient particulate matter in environmental and geological applications. By the application of the low-Z particle EPMA single particle analysis, an overall examination of 1800 coarse and fine particles (aerodynamic diameters: 2.5-10 µm and 1.0-2.5 µm, respectively) in six samples collected on 28 April-1 May 2006 in the marine boundary layer (MBL) of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea was conducted. Three samples (D1, D2, and D3) were collected along the Bohai Bay, Bohai Straits, and Yellow Sea near Korea during an Asian dust storm event while the other three samples (N3, N2, and N1) were collected on non-Asian dust (NAD) days. Based on X-ray spectral and secondary electron image data, 15 different types of particles were identified, in which soil-derived particles were encountered with the largest frequency, followed by (C, N, O)-rich droplets (likely the mixture of organic matter and NH 4 NO 3 ), particles of marine origin, and carbonaceous, Fe-rich, fly ash, and (C, N, O, S)-rich droplet particles. Results show that during the Asian dust storm event relative abundances of the (C, N, O)-rich droplets and the nitrate-containing secondary soil-derived particles were markedly increased (on average by a factor of 4.5 and 2, respectively in PM 2.5−10 fraction and by a factor of 1.9 and 1.5, respectively in PM 1.0−2.5 fraction) in the MBL of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, implying that Asian dust aerosols in springtime are an important carrier of gaseous inorganic nitrogen species, especially NO x (or HNO 3 ) and NH 3 .

Impact of Gobi desert dust on aerosol chemistry of Xi'an, inland China during spring 2009: differences in composition and size distribution between the urban ground surface and the mountain atmosphere

“…Compared with those on the mountaintop, relative abundances of NO − 3 , Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ in the DS II time at the urban site were much more abundant (Fig. 7b), which can be attributed to heterogeneous reactions of gaseous HNO 3 , N 2 O 5 and NO x with the crustal alkaline metals in the dust Geng et al, 2009;Tobo et al, 2010;Triendl, 1998;Zamora et al, 2011). Xi'an and Mt.…”

“…In each spring and early summer surface dust in Gobi desert region is brought about by front cold systems and the Mongolian cyclonic depression and transported into the downwind areas including North America (Leaitch et al, 2009;Seinfeld et al, 2004;VanCuren and Cahill, 2002). During transport mineral dust can internally mix with secondary compounds such as ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, carboxylic acids, nitrogen-containing organics and sea salt by coagulation, cloud-processing and heterogeneous reactions (Geng et al, 2009;Seinfeld et al, 2004;Sullivan et al, 2009a;Tobo et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2012a;Zamora et al, 2011;. These processes modify the physicochemical properties of the airborne aerosols containing dust, exerting a significant impact on the downwind atmospheric environment (Dillner et al, 2006).…”

Ionic and carbonaceous compositions of PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>1.0</sub> at Gosan ABC Superstation and their ratios as source signature

“…The correlation implies that there is a mineral affinity of nitrate in coarse mode particles and that some of the nitrate could have been formed on dust particles enriched with calcium. In fact, there have been intensive studies on the link between anthropogenic nitrate or sulfate and mineral constituents of Asian dust Lin et al, 2007;Geng et al, 2009) and Saharan dust particles (Talbot et al, 1986;Mace et al, 2003;Koçak et al, 2007). Particularly, Geng et al (2009) reported that the nitrate-containing secondary soil-derived particles were markedly increased in coarse mode during Asian dust period.…”

Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions of Particles

“…4.15, Leaitch et al 2009;Geng et al 2009;Li and Shao 2010;Stone et al 2011). Recent studies show that ATOFMS (Aerosol Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry) in providing aerosol particles composition as a function of particle size, is a pertinent technology to identify organic species mixed with dust Yang et al 2009;Dall'Osto et al 2010).…”