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Secondary aerosol formation and identification of regional source locations by PSCF analysis in the Indo-Gangetic region of India

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Abstract

Secondary aerosol formation was studied at Allahabad in the Indo-Gangetic region during a field campaign called Land Campaign-II in December 2004 (northern winter). Regional source locations of the ionic species in PM10 were identified by using Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF analysis). On an average, the concentration of water soluble inorganic ions (sum of anions and cations) was 63.2 μgm−3. Amongst the water soluble ions, average NO −3 concentration was the highest (25.0 μgm−3) followed by SO 2−4 (15.8 μgm−3) and NH +4 (13.8 μgm−3) concentrations. These species, contributed 87% of the total mass of water soluble species, indicating that most of the water soluble PM10 was composed of NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4/NH4HSO4 or (NH4)3H(SO4)2 particles. Further, the concentrations of SO 2−4 , NO −3 , and NH4+ aerosols increased at high relative humidity levels up to the deliquescence point (∼63% RH) for salts of these species suggesting that high humidity levels favor the conversion and partitioning of gaseous SO2, NOx, and NH3 to their aerosol phase. Additionally, lowering of ambient temperature as the winter progressed also resulted in an increase of NO −3 and NH +4 concentrations, probably due to the semi volatile nature of ammonium nitrate. PSCF analysis identified regions along the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) including Northern and Central Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Northern Pakistan, and parts of Rajasthan as source regions of airborne nitrate. Similar source regions, along with Northeastern Madhya Pradesh were identified for sulfate.

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Acknowledgements

Our sincere thanks are due to ISRO-GBP programme for providing funding to participate in the land campaign. Special thanks to Prof Shyam Lal, co-ordinator and Dr C B S Dutt, Programme Director. We are thankful to Prof Alok Gupta, Directror NCEMP, Allahabad University, Allahabad and his team for constant support provided during the campaign.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110 067, India

    Umesh C. Kulshrestha

  2. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, 462 023, India

    Ramya Sunder Raman

  3. National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110 012, India

    Monika J. Kulshrestha

  4. Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, 500 007, India

    T. N. Rao

  5. Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, 781 039, India

    Partha J. Hazarika

Authors
  1. Umesh C. Kulshrestha
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  2. Ramya Sunder Raman
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  3. Monika J. Kulshrestha
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  4. T. N. Rao
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  5. Partha J. Hazarika
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Umesh C. Kulshrestha.

Electronic Supplementary Material

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Table S1

Summary of lowest detection limits and measurement precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD, %) for all species characterized at Allahabad, India during December 2004 (DOC 31 kb)

Table S2

Collection efficiency for SO2 and NO2 estimated using two impingers in series (BDL—below detection limits) (DOC 29 kb)

Figure S1

Topographical map of Allahabad city and its surroundings (DOC 108 kb)

Figure S2

Regression between total cation and anion equivalents (DOC 939 kb)

Figure S3

PSCF map of F− measured over Allahabad during December 2004 (DOC 56 kb)

Figure S4

PSCF map of Cl− measured over Allahabad during December 2004 (DOC 55 kb)

Figure S5

PSCF map of Na+ measured over Allahabad during December 2004 (DOC 55 kb)

Figure S6

PSCF map of K+ measured over Allahabad during December 2004 (DOC 56 kb)

Figure S7

PSCF map of Mg2+ measured over Allahabad during December 2004 (DOC 56 kb)

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Kulshrestha, U.C., Sunder Raman, R., Kulshrestha, M.J. et al. Secondary aerosol formation and identification of regional source locations by PSCF analysis in the Indo-Gangetic region of India. J Atmos Chem 63, 33–47 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-010-9156-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-010-9156-z

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