On the water-soluble organic nitrogen concentration and mass size distribution during the fog season in the Po Valley, Italy

The study of organic nitrogen gained importance in recent decades due to its links with acid rain, pollution, and eutrophication. In this study, aerosol and fog water samples collected from two sites in Italy during November 2011 were analyzed to characterize their organic nitrogen content. Organic nitrogen contributed 19-25% of the total soluble nitrogen in the aerosol and around 13% in fog water. The largest water soluble organic nitrogen concentrations in the PM1.2 fraction occurred during the diurnal period with mean values of 2.03 and 2.16 μg-N m− 3 (154 and 145 nmol-N m− 3) at Bologna and San Pietro Capofiume (SPC), respectively. The mean PM10 WSON concentration during diurnal periods at SPC was 2.30 μg-N m− 3 (164 nmol-N m− 3) while it was 1.34 and 0.82 μg-N m− 3 (95.7 and 58.5 nmol-N m− 3) in the night and fog water samples, respectively. Aerosol mass distribution profiles obtained during fog changed significantly with respect to those estimated in periods without fog periods due to fog scavenging, which proved to be over 80% efficient. Linear correlations suggested secondary processes related to combustion and, to a lesser extent, biomass burning, as plausible sources of WSON. Regarding the inorganic nitrogen fraction, the results showed that ammonium was the largest soluble inorganic nitrogen component in the samples.