Three-year long source apportionment study of airborne particles in Ulaanbaatar using X-ray fluorescence and positive matrix factorization

Gunchin, G. et al. (2019) Three-year long source apportionment study of airborne particles in Ulaanbaatar using X-ray fluorescence and positive matrix factorization. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 19(5), pp. 1056-1067. (doi: 10.4209/aaqr.2018.09.0351)

Abstract

The capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, suffers from high levels of pollution due to excessive airborne particulate matter (APM). A lack of systematic data for the region has inspired investigation into the type, origin and seasonal variations of this pollution, the effects of meteorological conditions and even the time-dependence of anthropogenic sources. This work reports source apportionment results from a large data set of 184 samples each of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) fraction atmospheric PM collected over a three-year period (2014–2016) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was applied using the concentrations of 16 elements measured by an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer along with the black carbon content measured by a reflectometer as input data. The PMF results revealed that whereas mixed sources dominate the coarse fraction, soil and traffic sources are the principle contributors to the fine fraction. The source profiles and the seasonal variations of their contributions indicate that fly ash emanating from coal combustion mixes with traffic emissions and resuspended soil, resulting in variable chemical source profiles. Four sources were identified for both fractions, namely, soil, coal combustion, traffic and oil combustion, which respectively contributed 35%, 16%, 41% and 8% to the coarse fraction and 31%, 27%, 31% and 11% to the fine fraction. Additionally, the probable source contributions from long-range transport events were assessed via concentration-weighted trajectory analysis.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This project was funded by Mongolian Foundation for Science and Technology and supported in part by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) through the Regional Cooperation Agreement Program “RAS/7/023.” Moreover, this work has been supported by the IAEA and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and through an IAEA-ICTP Sandwich Training Educational Program fellowship C6/MON/15001 granted to Gerelmaa Gunchin.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Darby, Dr Iain
• Authors: Gunchin, G., Manousakas, M., Osan, J., Karydas, A. G., Eleftheriadis, K., Lodoysamba, S., Shagjjamba, D., Migliori, A., Padilla-Alvarez, R., Streli, C., and Darby, I.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Aerosol and Air Quality Research
• Publisher: Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research
• ISSN: 1680-8584
• ISSN (Online): 2071-1409
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research
• First Published: First published in Aerosol and Air Quality Research 19(5):1056-1067
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy