Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning
An intensive field study was conducted in the urban atmosphere of Singapore to investigate the composition of organic compounds in both gaseous and particulate phases during the period of August to early November 2006. 17 atmospheric samples were collected. These samples were subjected to accelerate...
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doaj-77e20427572741b5b01ad4bda83c5ba52020-11-25T01:39:48ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242010-12-011023114011141310.5194/acp-10-11401-2010Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burningJ. He0B. Zielinska1R. Balasubramanian2Singapore – Delft Water Alliance, Block E1, #08-25, 1 Engineering Drive 2, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, SingaporeDivision of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway Reno, NV 89512-1095, USASingapore – Delft Water Alliance, Block E1, #08-25, 1 Engineering Drive 2, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, SingaporeAn intensive field study was conducted in the urban atmosphere of Singapore to investigate the composition of organic compounds in both gaseous and particulate phases during the period of August to early November 2006. 17 atmospheric samples were collected. These samples were subjected to accelerated solvent extraction with a mixture of dichloromethane and acetone and separated into functional group fractions for analyses by GC/MS. Over 180 organic compounds belonging to three major fractions (n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs, and polar organic compounds – POCs) were identified and quantified. The characteristics and abundance of the n-alkanes, PAHs, mono and dicarboxylic acids, methoxylated phenols and other POCs were determined. The composition of these organic compounds fluctuated temporally with most of them being relatively higher in October than those in other months of the sampling period. 3-D backward air mass trajectory analyses together with the carbon preference index (CPI), molecular diagnostic ratios and molecular markers were used to investigate the origin of organic species measured in this study. Based on these diagnostic tools, the increased abundance of atmospheric organic species during October could be attributed to the occurrence of regional smoke haze episodes due to biomass burning in Indonesia. Among the POCs investigated, phthalic acid and cis-pinonic acid were abundant during October 2006. These two acids showed strong linear relationships with maximum daily ozone concentrations throughout the entire sampling period. This correlation with ozone suggested that the secondary aerosol constituents such as phthalic and cis-pinonic acids were probably formed through O<sub>3</sub>-induced photochemical transformation.http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/11401/2010/acp-10-11401-2010.pdf |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
J. He B. Zielinska R. Balasubramanian |
spellingShingle |
J. He B. Zielinska R. Balasubramanian Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
author_facet |
J. He B. Zielinska R. Balasubramanian |
author_sort |
J. He |
title |
Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning |
title_short |
Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning |
title_full |
Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning |
title_fullStr |
Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning |
title_full_unstemmed |
Composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of Singapore: influence of biomass burning |
title_sort |
composition of semi-volatile organic compounds in the urban atmosphere of singapore: influence of biomass burning |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
series |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
issn |
1680-7316 1680-7324 |
publishDate |
2010-12-01 |
description |
An intensive field study was conducted in the urban atmosphere of Singapore
to investigate the composition of organic compounds in both gaseous and
particulate phases during the period of August to early November 2006. 17
atmospheric samples were collected. These samples were subjected to
accelerated solvent extraction with a mixture of dichloromethane and acetone
and separated into functional group fractions for analyses by GC/MS. Over
180 organic compounds belonging to three major fractions (n-alkanes,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs, and polar organic compounds – POCs)
were identified and quantified. The characteristics and abundance of the
n-alkanes, PAHs, mono and dicarboxylic acids, methoxylated phenols and other
POCs were determined. The composition of these organic compounds fluctuated
temporally with most of them being relatively higher in October than those
in other months of the sampling period. 3-D backward air mass trajectory
analyses together with the carbon preference index (CPI), molecular
diagnostic ratios and molecular markers were used to investigate the origin
of organic species measured in this study. Based on these diagnostic tools,
the increased abundance of atmospheric organic species during October could
be attributed to the occurrence of regional smoke haze episodes due to
biomass burning in Indonesia. Among the POCs investigated, phthalic acid and
cis-pinonic acid were abundant during October 2006. These two acids showed
strong linear relationships with maximum daily ozone concentrations
throughout the entire sampling period. This correlation with ozone suggested
that the secondary aerosol constituents such as phthalic and cis-pinonic
acids were probably formed through O<sub>3</sub>-induced photochemical
transformation. |
url |
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/11401/2010/acp-10-11401-2010.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
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