Chemical properties and origin of dust aerosols in Beijing during springtime--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Zhang, R., Han, Z., Cheng, T., & Tao, J. (2009). Chemical properties and origin of dust aerosols in Beijing during springtime. Particuology, 7(1), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2008.11.003

Chemical properties and origin of dust aerosols in Beijing during springtime

Renjian Zhang ^a *, Zhiwei Han ^a, Tiantao Cheng ^b, Jun Tao ^c

a Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment Research for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
b Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
c South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Guangzhou 510655, China

10.1016/j.partic.2008.11.003

Volume 7, Issue 1, 18 February 2009, Pages 61-67

Received 11 June 2008, Accepted 10 November 2008, Available online 13 January 2009.

E-mail: zrj@mail.iap.ac.cn

Highlights

Abstract

Ground observation of dust aerosols was conducted in Beijing in the spring of 2005 in order to investigate the element composition and origin of mineral dust. Mass concentrations of most mineral elements of particles increased during dust events. Mineral elements were predominant in the sums of total element loadings in both dusty and non-dusty days. Mg, Si, Fe, Al or Ti can be used as an indicator of dust outflow; Cl can be viewed as an evidence of dust particles mixing with anthropogenic emissions. Mineral and pollutant elements showed a bimodal mass particle-size distribution (MSD) in non-dusty days, and a trimodal distribution in dusty days, but their peak concentrations fell in different size stages. Zn and S were mainly enriched in fine particles, whereas Cl was enriched in medium particles, but most mineral elements and Cu were enriched in coarse particles. Mineral elements were dominated by crustal material in dusty even non-dusty days, but pollutant elements were from non-crustal material including local and remote sources. Back trajectory analysis indicated that dust particles in Beijing mainly originated from the Gobi and desert regions of Mongolian and northern China.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Dust; Chemical element composition; Asian dust event; Transport route

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