title: Aerosol characteristics and sources in Yangzhou, China resolved by offline aerosol mass spectrometry and other techniques.
abstract: Detailed chemical characterization of fine aerosols (PM2.5) is important for reducing air pollution in densely populated areas, such as the Yangtze River Delta region in China. This study systematically analyzed PM2.5samples collected during November 2015 to April 2016 in urban Yangzhou using a suite of techniques, in particular, an Aerodyne soot particle aerosol mass spectrometry (SP-AMS). The techniques used here reconstructed the majority of total PM2.5measured where extracted species comprised on average 91.2%. Source analyses of inorganic components showed that secondary nitrate, sulfate and chloride were the major species, while primary sources including biomass burning, coal combustion, traffic, industry and re-suspended dust due to nearby demolition activities, could contribute to other species. EC-tracer method estimated that the organic matter (OM) was composed of 65.4% secondary OM (SOM) and 34.6% primary OM (POM), while the SP-AMS analyses showed that the OM was comprised of 60.3% water-soluble OM (WSOM) and 39.7% water-insoluble OM (WIOM). Correlation analyses suggested that WSOM might be rich in secondary organic species, while WIOM was likely mainly comprised of primary organic species. We further conducted positive matrix factorization (PMF) analyses on the WSOM, and identified three primary factors including traffic, cooking and biomass burning, and two secondary factors. We found the secondary factors dominated WSOM mass (68.1%), and their mass contributions increased with the increase of WSOM concentrations. Relatively small contribution of primary sources to WSOM was probably due to their low water solubility, which should be investigated further in future. Overall, our findings improve understanding of the complex aerosol sources and chemistry in this region.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Electronic address: caxinra@163.com.
authors.forename: Xinlei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
authors.forename: Yanfang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; Yangzhou Environmental Monitoring Center, Yangzhou 225007, China.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
authors.forename: Xinchun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Tianbo Environmental Technology Co., Ltd, Nanjing 210047, China.
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China.
authors.forename: Zhaolian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
authors.forename: Mindong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China; D003031:Coal / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009566:Nitrates / Q000032:analysis; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides / Q000032:analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D013431:Sulfates / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D003031:Coal; D009566:Nitrates; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D052638:Particulate Matter; D013431:Sulfates
keywords: Aerosol chemistry; Aerosol mass spectrometry; Organic aerosol; PM(2.5); Secondary aerosol; Source apportionment