Seasonal variation of water-soluble inorganic components in aerosol size-segregated at the puy de Dôme station (1,465 m a.s.l.), France

Abstract

The size-segregated chemical composition of aerosol particles was investigated during 1 year at the puy de Dôme (1,465 ma.s.l.), France. These measurements aimed to a better understanding of the influence of the air mass origin on the size-segregated chemical composition of the aerosol at an altitude site. Mountain site measurements are important because they are representative of long range transport and useful for model validation. PM 1 mass concentration exhibits a seasonal variability with a summer maximum. The composition of PM 1 did not change significantly in terms of relative contribution of water soluble inorganic ions but is rather variable in term of total mass concentrations. For the PM 10-1 , a different seasonal behaviour was found with maxima concentrations in autumn-winter. Aerosols were classified into four different categories according to their air mass origin: marine, marine modified, continental and Mediterranean. The PM 10 aerosol mass at 50 % relative humidity was close to 2.5 μg m −3 in the marine, 4.3 μg m −3 in the marine modified, 10.3 μg m −3 in the continental and 7.7 μg m −3 in the Mediterranean sectors. We noted that the influence of the air mass origin (on the chemical properties) could be seen especially on the PM 10-1 . A significant PM 10-1 mode was found in marine, modified marine, and J Atmos Chem (2012) 69:47-66 Mediterranean air masses, and PM 1 dominated in the continental air masses samples. As a result, the aerosol chemical composition variability at the puy de Dôme is a function of both the season and air mass type and we provide a chemical composition of the aerosol as a function of each of these environmental factors.

Chemical Characterization of PM1 at a Regional Background Site in the Western Mediterranean

“…Finally, the average PM 1 concentration found at Mt. Aitana was slightly higher than that observed at puy de Dôme (3.9 µg m -3 , annual average), located at similar altitude in central France (Bourcier et al, 2012).…”

“…The seasonal cycle of PM 1 concentrations at Mt. Aitana was characteristic of high altitude locations (Marenco et al, 2004;Cozic et al, 2008;Freney et al, 2011;Bourcier et al, 2012;Carbone et al, 2014;Ripoll et al, 2015). The highest values were recorded during summer (5.8 µg m -3 ) while the minima were measured in winter time (3.4 µg m -3 ).…”

Source apportionment of fine PM and sub-micron particle number concentrations at a regional background site in the western Mediterranean: a 2.5 year study

“…A similar seasonality was observed for PM 1 at puy de Dôme (1465 m.a.s.l.) with higher summer concentrations and a winter minimum (Bourcier et al, 2012). Both these sites are high altitude sites, at higher altitudes than MSY (720 m.a.s.l.…”

“…Cozic et al (2008) published results on organic and inorganic compounds in PM 1 for 7 years at a high alpine site in Switzerland (Jungfraujoch). Bourcier et al (2012) studied PM 1 concentrations and seasonal variability over one year at the high altitude site of puy de Dôme in France. However, of the studies mentioned, source apportionment was only performed for PM 1 at urban sites by Vecchi et al (2008) and Richard et al (2011).…”

Regional Modeling of Aerosol Chemical Composition at the Puy de Dôme (France)

“…Ainsi, en se plaçant à l'altitude réelle du puy de Dôme soit 1465m, le site est en couche limite le jour et en troposphère libre la nuit durant l'été tandis qu'il reste principalement en troposphère libre durant l'hiver. Ces conclusions sont en bon accord avec les tendances généralement observées à partir des données LIDAR excepté pour la période automnale où la plupart des études (Venzac et al, 2009 ;Bourcier et al, 2012) montrent que le site serait principalement en couche limite alors que le modèle le simule plutôt en troposphère libre.…”