Seasonal and diurnal variations of carbonyl compounds in the urban atmosphere of Guangzhou, China

Seasonal, diurnal and nocturnal variations of carbonyl compounds in the semi-urban environment of Orléans, France

“…The percentage of the other carbonyls of the total carbonyls was about 20%, and the most abundant high molecular weight carbonyl was benzaldehyde. The total concentrations of carbonyls decreased in order of summer > spring, autumn > winter, and the concentrations of principal carbonyls (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone) in summer were higher than those in winter, which was similar to previous studies (Pang and Mu 2006;Lü et al 2010;Cerón et al 2007;Pal et al 2008). However, most carbonyls except formaldehyde and butyraldehyde/isobutyraldehyde concentration ratios of summer to winter (S/W) were less than 1 at MK (Mong Kok) and UST (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Hong Kong (Cheng et al 2014).…”

“…The diurnal variation trends of acetaldehyde and acetone in spring and autumn were different from those in summer and winter and also not distinct, suggesting that there were other sources of acetaldehyde and acetone. Acetone was sometimes found to be the most abundant carbonyl in the ambient air, especially in autumn, which is in accordance with previous studies (Feng et al 2005;Pang and Mu 2006;Moussa et al 2006;Lü et al 2010). Acetone may be from solvent usage in construction or laboratories near the sampling site.…”

“…Ten carbonyl compounds were identified in the ambient air, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, propionaldehyde, Table 2, we see that formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone were by far the principal carbonyls, being similar to those in Beijing (Pang and Mu 2006), in Guangzhou (Feng et al 2005;Lü et al 2010) and Hong Kong (Sin et al 2001;Cheng et al 2014), and were detected in every sample in each season. The percentage of the other carbonyls of the total carbonyls was about 20%, and the most abundant high molecular weight carbonyl was benzaldehyde.…”

“…The seasonal variation of carbonyls can be influenced by meteorological conditions like temperature, pressure, wind speed etc. (Pang and Mu 2006;Lü and Cai 2009;Lü et al 2010;Cheng et al 2014). At the semi-urban site, higher ambient temperature in summer (Table 1) could enhance the photochemical reactions and generate more carbonyls, while the similar meteorological conditions in spring and autumn might have contributed to the similar total concentrations in spring and autumn.…”

“…To evaluate their influence on human health as well as atmospheric chemistry, field measurements of atmospheric carbonyls have been carried out in different areas, including urban (Cheng et al 2014;Lü et al 2010;Weng et al 2009;Pang and Mu 2006;Pang and Lee 2010;Xu et al 2010;Zhang et al 2012;Feng et al 2005;Ho et al 2002;Nguyen et al 2001;Possanzini et al 2002), rural (Xie et al 2008;Villanueva-Fierro et al, 2004;Wiedinmyer et al 2001;Solberg et al 2001;Shepson et al 1991;Cheng et al 2014) and remote areas (Singh et al 2004;Zhou and Mopper 1993;Wagner et al 2001;De Serves 1994). In comparison with urban areas, however, investigations on atmospheric carbonyls in rural or semi-urban areas are still sparse.…”