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Chemical Characteristics of Atmospheric Aerosol at Alaknanda Valley (Srinagar) in the Central Himalaya Region, India

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Abstract

Measurements of fine (PM2.5) and inhalable (PM10) particles were collected at the Alaknanda Valley in the heart of Garhwal region during December 2015–December 2016. Collected samples of PMs were analyzed for major chemical species as anions (F−, Cl−, SO42−, NO2− and NO3−) and cations (Na+, NH4+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) by ion chromatography. During the study period, the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were 78.7 ± 25.1 and 111.8 ± 23.4 μg m−3, respectively. The measured chemical species were found a large variability in different seasons due to the impact of emissions and meteorological parameters. The measured water-soluble (WS) chemical species of PM2.5 and PM10 were 43% (33.7 μg m−3) and 57% (64.2 μg m−3), respectively, with the highest concentrations during the winter season followed by summer, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. A significant positive correlation was observed between NH4+ and other species (Cl−, SO42− and NO3−) in both PM2.5 and PM10, which indicates its presence in the atmosphere as ammonium salts. As a result, NH4+ play a crucial role in neutralization of acidic species in the winter season; however, the contrary feature was observed in the summer season where Ca2+ was responsible for the main neutralizing species, mainly transported from the inland region during the summer. Principal component analysis shows that secondary aerosol, biomass burning, and soil-driven dust were the possible sources of the measured species over the station. Further, air mass back trajectory analyses indicate that the highest mass concentrations of PMs and WS chemical species were in the post-monsoon season when the air masses pass from eastern Pakistan and western part of India over receptor site. In the winter season, the concentrations of PMs and WS species were highest (second) when the air masses transported from a long distance up to Southern Afghanistan covering with Pakistan and western part of India. In overall, the study suggests the long-range transport of pollutants plays a crucial role in the enhancement of PMs over Alaknanda valley region.

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Acknowledgements

Author ASG is thankful to the SERB-DST project for financial support (No. SB/EMEQ-043/2014 dated March 08, 2016). Authors are thankful to the Director, IITM to provide the facility for analysis of aerosol samples at IITM Delhi branch.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, HNB Garhwal University (Central University), Srinagar, Uttarakhand, 246174, India

    Alok Sagar Gautam

  2. Department of Rural Technology, HNB Garhwal University (Central University), Srinagar, Uttarakhand, 246174, India

    Rajendra Singh Negi & Santosh Singh

  3. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Delhi Branch), Prof. Ram Nath Vij Marg, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi, 110060, India

    Atul Kumar Srivastava, Suresh Tiwari & Deewan Singh Bisht

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  1. Alok Sagar Gautam
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  2. Rajendra Singh Negi
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  4. Atul Kumar Srivastava
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  5. Suresh Tiwari
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  6. Deewan Singh Bisht
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Correspondence to Deewan Singh Bisht.

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Gautam, A.S., Negi, R.S., Singh, S. et al. Chemical Characteristics of Atmospheric Aerosol at Alaknanda Valley (Srinagar) in the Central Himalaya Region, India. Int J Environ Res 12, 681–691 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-018-0125-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-018-0125-8

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