TY - JOUR
T1 - Organic aerosol source apportionment in London 2013 with ME-2
T2 - Exploring the solution space with annual and seasonal analysis
AU - Reyes-Villegas, Ernesto
AU - Green, David C.
AU - Priestman, Max
AU - Canonaco, Francesco
AU - Coe, Hugh
AU - Prévôt, André S H
AU - Allan, James D.
PY - 2016/12/16
Y1 - 2016/12/16
N2 - The multilinear engine (ME-2) factorization tool is being widely used following the recent development of the Source Finder (SoFi) interface at the Paul Scherrer Institute. However, the success of this tool, when using the a value approach, largely depends on the inputs (i.e. target profiles) applied as well as the experience of the user. A strategy to explore the solution space is proposed, in which the solution that best describes the organic aerosol (OA) sources is determined according to the systematic application of predefined statistical tests. This includes trilinear regression, which proves to be a useful tool for comparing different ME-2 solutions. Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) measurements were carried out at the urban background site of North Kensington, London from March to December 2013, where for the first time the behaviour of OA sources and their possible environmental implications were studied using an ACSM. Five OA sources were identified: biomass burning OA (BBOA), hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), semivolatile oxygenated OA (SVOOA) and low-volatility oxygenated OA (LVOOA). ME-2 analysis of the seasonal data sets (spring, summer and autumn) showed a higher variability in the OA sources that was not detected in the combined March-December data set; this variability was explored with the triangle plots f44g :g f43 f44g :g f60, in which a high variation of SVOOA relative to LVOOA was observed in the f44g :g f43 analysis. Hence, it was possible to conclude that, when performing source apportionment to long-term measurements, important information may be lost and this analysis should be done to short periods of time, such as seasonally. Further analysis on the atmospheric implications of these OA sources was carried out, identifying evidence of the possible contribution of heavy-duty diesel vehicles to air pollution during weekdays compared to those fuelled by petrol.
AB - The multilinear engine (ME-2) factorization tool is being widely used following the recent development of the Source Finder (SoFi) interface at the Paul Scherrer Institute. However, the success of this tool, when using the a value approach, largely depends on the inputs (i.e. target profiles) applied as well as the experience of the user. A strategy to explore the solution space is proposed, in which the solution that best describes the organic aerosol (OA) sources is determined according to the systematic application of predefined statistical tests. This includes trilinear regression, which proves to be a useful tool for comparing different ME-2 solutions. Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) measurements were carried out at the urban background site of North Kensington, London from March to December 2013, where for the first time the behaviour of OA sources and their possible environmental implications were studied using an ACSM. Five OA sources were identified: biomass burning OA (BBOA), hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), semivolatile oxygenated OA (SVOOA) and low-volatility oxygenated OA (LVOOA). ME-2 analysis of the seasonal data sets (spring, summer and autumn) showed a higher variability in the OA sources that was not detected in the combined March-December data set; this variability was explored with the triangle plots f44g :g f43 f44g :g f60, in which a high variation of SVOOA relative to LVOOA was observed in the f44g :g f43 analysis. Hence, it was possible to conclude that, when performing source apportionment to long-term measurements, important information may be lost and this analysis should be done to short periods of time, such as seasonally. Further analysis on the atmospheric implications of these OA sources was carried out, identifying evidence of the possible contribution of heavy-duty diesel vehicles to air pollution during weekdays compared to those fuelled by petrol.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006511859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/acp-2016-465
DO - 10.5194/acp-2016-465
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85006511859
SN - 1680-7316
VL - 16
SP - 15545
EP - 15559
JO - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
JF - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
IS - 24
ER -
