Diurnal variation of particle-bound PAHs in an urban area of Spain using TD-GC/MS: Influence of meteorological parameters and emission sources

The diurnal pattern of source contributions was assessed by binary diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis (PCA). These results showed the prevalence of pyrogenic sources coming from traffic and coal/coke combustion sources. Moreover, the PCA differentiated a diurnal pattern of source contributions. The influence of meteorological factors was studied by Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Three factors, temperature, wind speed and atmospheric pressure, were identified as the most significant ones affecting diurnal PAHs concentrations. Finally, PCA of the PAHs levels, regulated atmospheric pollutants and meteorological parameters showed that diurnal PAHs concentrations were mainly influenced by variations in the emission sources, atmospheric oxidants such as ozone, and temperature conditions. These results provide further insight into the PAHs diurnal patterns in urban areas by using higher temporal resolutions.