Concentration, distribution and variation of polar organic aerosol tracers in Ya'an, a middle-sized city in western China

PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm) and TSP (total suspended particulates) aerosol samples were collected in Ya'an, a middle-sized city with extensive wood resources in Southwestern China, to characterize the contribution of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) to the regional troposphere, the composition of the organic tracers as well as factors affecting their concentrations. A total of 34 samples were gathered on the Campus of Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU, urban site, in the city zone of Ya'an), while 49 samples were collected at Baima Spring Scenic Area (BSSA, forest site, situated about 30 km to the northeast of SAU) during June to July, 2010. Using GC/MS analysis with prior trimethylsilylation, organic tracers including isoprene oxidation products (2-methyltetrols, C5-alkene triols and 2-methylglyceric acid), α-/β-pinene oxidation products (norpinic acid, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, 3-hydroxy-4,4-dimethylglutaric acid, and 3-methyl-1,2,3- butanetricarboxylic acid), a sesquiterpene oxidation product (β-caryophyllinic acid), sugars (glucose and fructose), sugar alcohols (arabitol, mannitol, erythritol, sorbitol and xylitol), anhydrosugars (levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan) and malic acid were determined. The factors that could potentially affect the SOA tracer concentrations, i.e. trace gases (SO2, NOx, O3, NH3), aerosol acidity and meteorological parameters, were monitored. The results showed that the concentrations of total isoprene oxidation products were 72 and 82 ng/m3 at the two sampling locations, with 29 ± 18, 37 ± 9, 6 ± 2 ng/m3 at SAU and 57 ± 34, 33 ± 33, 4 ± 2 ng/m3 at BSSA for 2-methyltetrols, C5-alkene triols and 2-methylglyceric acid respectively. Compared with the concentrations of isoprene oxidation products, those of α-/β-pinene oxidation products and β-caryophyllinic acid were much lower, being 6 ± 33 and 0.5 ± 1.9 ng/m3 at SAU, and 9 ± 14 and 1.0 ± 1.2 ng/m3 at BSSA, respectively. The unique composition of isoprene oxidation products, particularly, the high concentrations of the C5-alkene triols and their relative abundances comparable to those of the 2-methyltetrols, are possibly due to the fact that they are formed through acid-catalyzed reactions of C5-epoxydiols on weak acidic aerosols. Moreover, sugars and sugar alcohols were measured in important fractions at the two study areas, with the median concentrations of 309.7 and 465.7 ng/m3 at SAU and BSSA, respectively. The high abundances of sugar and sugar alcohols in the study area are explained by the robust metabolism of microorganism in the fertile soil under the warm and moist climate as well as vigorous physiological activities of vegetations in the exuberant subtropical areas. The detected organic tracers accounted in total for 1.5–1.8% of organic carbon (OC) in the study atmosphere, and about 15–21% of the OC could in total be apportioned to biogenic aerosol sources and source processes.

► Polar organic tracers are studied at a forest site and an urban site in Ya'an.
► The factors that could potentially affect the tracer concentrations are discussed.
► Using a tracer-based method, we estimate the possible source contributions to organic carbon (OC).
► The apportioned sources account for 15–21% of OC for the studied PM2.5 aerosols.