title: Spatial and seasonal variations of the chemical, mineralogical and morphological features of quasi-ultrafine particles (PM 0.49) at urban sites.
abstract: Combining chemical and physical-structural information of particles is a key issue in PM investigations. Chemical, mineralogical, and morphological characterization of quasi-ultrafine particles (PM 0.49) was carried out at two urban sites of varying traffic-influence (roadside and urban background) in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, during the cold and the warm period of 2013. Bulk analyses of chemical species included organic and elemental carbon (OC, EC), water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), ionic species (NO3(-), SO4(2-), Cl(-), Na(+), NH4(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+)) and trace elements (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, and Ir). X-ray diffractometry (XRD) was employed for the mineralogical analysis of PM 0.49 in order to identify and quantify amorphous and crystalline phases. In addition, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) was employed for morphological characterization and elemental microanalysis of individual particles. Findings of this work could provide the basis for designing epidemiological and toxicity studies to mitigate population exposure to UFPs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: csamara@chem.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Constantini
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Samara
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Division of Mineralogy-Petrology-Economic Geology, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kantiranis
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Division of Mineralogy-Petrology-Economic Geology, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kollias
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Styliani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Planou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kouras
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Besis
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Aristotle University, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voutsa
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006115:Greece; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: Mass closure; Mineralogy; Organic matter; SEM-EDS; UFPs; WSOC