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Enrichment factors to assess the anthropogenic influence on PM10 in Gijón (Spain)

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Abstract

Thirty-two chemical species were determined in PM10 sampled at a suburban site on the north coast of Spain. Enrichment factors were applied to infer their soil/non-soil origin. The geochemical ratios were calculated using two databases: soil composition from locations in the surroundings of the sampling station and the Earth’s average upper-crust composition. In the present study, dissimilarities were found between the enrichment factors obtained using these two databases. Al, Ti, La and Ce were taken as the reference elements to normalise the data, reaching analogous conclusions. Bi, Cd, Cu, Sb, Se, Sn and Zn were associated with predominantly non-soil apportionments. As the relevance of soil/non-soil sources for the other analysed elements was found to be variable, they were probably of mixed origin. Furthermore, pairs of elements showed strong relationships, thus pointing to a common origin. Na–Mg and Co–Ni, with Pearson correlation coefficients above 0.9, were respectively related to marine and industrial apportionments. Enrichment factors have proved to be a useful tool to distinguish the soil/non-soil origin of chemical species present in airborne particulate matter. However, the choice of the reference database for soil composition considerably determined the accuracy of the conclusions.

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Notes

  1. Information available at The Spanish Register of Emissions and Pollutant Sources (PRTR-Spain)

  2. Information available at the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (http://info.igme.es/Geoquimica/)

  3. Information available at the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (http://info.igme.es/cartografiadigital/geologica/Magna50.aspx)

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Principality of Asturias Regional Government (research project: Particulate matter in the air of Asturias: levels, composition and source contribution (in Spanish), ref. SV-PA-13-ECOEMP-65). The authors gratefully acknowledge the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain for providing the Geochemistry Database (http://info.igme.es/Geoquimica/), the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Meteorological Station of Gijón (http://meteogijon.es/) and the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and/or the READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication. An acknowledgment is also given for the comments made during the revision process for contributing to improve the quality of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, Gijón Campus, University of Oviedo, 33203, Gijón, Spain

    Laura Megido, Luis Negral, Leonor Castrillón, Yolanda Fernández-Nava & Elena Marañón

  2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Cartagena, 30202, Cartagena, Spain

    Luis Negral

  3. Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, Gijón Campus, University of Oviedo, 33203, Gijón, Spain

    Beatriz Suárez-Peña

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  1. Laura Megido
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  2. Luis Negral
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  5. Yolanda Fernández-Nava
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  6. Elena Marañón
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Correspondence to Luis Negral.

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Megido, L., Negral, L., Castrillón, L. et al. Enrichment factors to assess the anthropogenic influence on PM10 in Gijón (Spain). Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 711–724 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7858-8

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