title: Characterization of organic compounds in aerosol particles from a coniferous forest by GC-MS.
abstract: Atmospheric aerosol particles were collected in a Finnish Scots pine forest as part of a European Union project. Sampling was done in March-April 2003 with a high-volume sampler. Dynamic ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were applied to the analysis of aerosol samples for analytes such as n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), oxidized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs), sesquiterpenes (SQT) and oxidized sesquiterpenes (oxy-SQT). The highest concentrations were found for the n-alkanes, which were present in a wide range (C11-C32) indicating both biogenic and anthropogenic sources. PAH compounds were found in every sample while oxy-PAH compounds were present in low concentrations in a few samples. A few oxidized monoterpenes, most notably (-)-verbenone and pinonaldehyde, were found in several samples in concentrations clearly exceeding the PAH concentrations. The effect of temperature could be seen in most samples, where the concentrations of n-alkanes declined with decreasing temperatures. Particle formation events were accompanied by higher concentrations of heavy n-alkanes, verbenone and pinonaldehyde.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Taija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rissanen
authors.forename: Tuulia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hyötyläinen
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kallio
authors.forename: Juhani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kronholm
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulmala
authors.forename: Marja-Liisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Riekkola
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005387:Finland; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D041605:Pinus sylvestris; D014197:Trees
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D009930:Organic Chemicals