Seasonal variations in the concentration and solubility of elements in atmospheric particulate matter: a case study in Northern Italy

Abstract

Atmospheric particulate matter is characterized by a variety of chemical components, generally produced by different sources. Chemical fractionation of elements, namely the determination of their extractable and residual fractions, may reliably increase the selectivity of some elements as tracers of specific PM sources. Seasonal variations of atmospheric particulate matter concentration in PM10 and PM2.5, of elemental concentration in PM10 and PM2.5, of the extractable and residual fraction of elements in different size fractions in the range 0.18 – 18 μm are reported in this paper. The effect of the ageing of the air masses is discussed.

Keywords

• particulate matter
• atmosphere
• elements
• chemical fractionation
• size distribution