Elemental characterization, sources and wind dependence of PM1 near Venice, Italy

• PM1 elemental composition and relative sources are investigated near Venice airport.
• Five sources are identified and quantified by PMF.
• Heavy oil combustion–road traffic–airplane tire wear–glassmaking-mixed combustion.
• The role of local atmospheric circulation is investigated.

In this paper, PM1 elemental composition and relative sources have been investigated near Venice (Eastern Po Valley, Italy). Considering the lack of information on PM1 composition in this area and the general poor knowledge of emission profiles, this study can give useful information to better understand the source profile and the dispersion of finer particles. A sampling campaign was carried out in two sampling sites located inside the “Marco Polo” international airport of Venice. Elemental composition on PM1 samples was characterized by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Five sources were identified and quantified by using the positive matrix factorization receptor model: heavy oil combustion, road traffic, airplane tire-wear, glassmaking and mixed combustions. The role of local atmospheric circulation was investigated by studying the source contributions as a function of wind velocity. Days characterized by low dispersion (lower wind speed and higher wind calm with respect to full period rose) showed a higher contribution for all sources, and a glassmaking contribution increase linked to wind blowing from South, where the artistic glass district of Venice is located.