title: Uneven distribution of inorganic pollutants in marine air originating from ocean-going ships.
abstract: The distribution of mass, water-soluble inorganic salts and mineral elements of size-segregated aerosols (PM1, PM2.5-1and PM10-2.5), precursor gaseous pollutants, black carbon, and nanoparticles (10-300 nm size range) at the Southern Bight of the North Sea has been studied. The concentrations of air pollutants peaked over shipping lanes, open-water anchorage areas and frequently navigated waters, due to the presence of mobile emission sources. A considerable decrease in air pollutant levels was seen when diverting from these marine areas towards remote or coastal banks. These findings showed the rapid dispersion of pollutants in the marine air. The nano-aerosol count, originating from ocean-going ships, peaked at lower average aerodynamic diameters (e.g., ≈28 nm) than those, observed from low-displacement vessels (45-50 nm, e.g., for fishing boats). The average diameter of nano-PM depended also on weather conditions, e.g., it was higher (≈50 nm) in air of higher humidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp (UA), Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2610 Antwerp, Belgium; Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: bencs.laszlo@wigner.mta.hu.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bencs
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp (UA), Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2610 Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Food Safety & Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, University of Ghent, Coupure Links 653, BE-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Horemans
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp (UA), Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2610 Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2828, USA.
authors.forename: Anna Jolanta
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Buczyńska
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp (UA), Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Grieken
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005648:Fuel Oils; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000032:analysis; D009659:North Sea; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012767:Ships; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D005648:Fuel Oils; D005740:Gases; D052638:Particulate Matter; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Atmospheric pollutants; Gaseous precursor compounds; Secondary aerosol formation; Ship traffic related exhaust emission; Size-segregated aerosols