An Application of Artificial Neural Network to Evaluate the Influence of Weather Conditions on the Variation of PM<sub>2.5</sub>-Bound Carbonaceous Compositions and Water-Soluble Ionic Species
Siwatt Pongpiachan,
Qiyuan Wang,
Ronbanchob Apiratikul,
Danai Tipmanee,
Yu Li,
Li Xing,
Guohui Li,
Yongming Han,
Junji Cao,
Ronald C. Macatangay,
Saran Poshyachinda,
Aekkapol Aekakkararungroj,
Muhammad Zaffar Hashmi
Affiliations
Siwatt Pongpiachan
NIDA Center for Research & Development of Disaster Prevention & Management, School of Social and Environmental Development, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), 148 Moo 3, Sereethai Road, Klong-Chan, Bangkok 10240, Thailand
Qiyuan Wang
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Ronbanchob Apiratikul
Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok 10300, Thailand
Danai Tipmanee
Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus 80 Moo 1, Vichitsongkram Road, Kathu, Phuket 83120, Thailand
Yu Li
Xi’an Institute for Innovative Earth Environment Research, Xi’an 710061, China
Li Xing
School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
Guohui Li
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Yongming Han
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Junji Cao
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Ronald C. Macatangay
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), 260 Moo 4, Chiang-Mai 50180, Thailand
Saran Poshyachinda
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), 260 Moo 4, Chiang-Mai 50180, Thailand
Aekkapol Aekakkararungroj
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), SM Tower 979/66 70 Phahonyothin Road, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Muhammad Zaffar Hashmi
Department of Chemistry, COMSATS University, Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Previous studies have determined biomass burning as a major source of air pollutants in the ambient air in Thailand. To analyse the impacts of meteorological parameters on the variation of carbonaceous aerosols and water-soluble ionic species (WSIS), numerous statistical models, including a source apportionment analysis with the assistance of principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and artificial neural networks (ANNs), were employed in this study. A total of 191 sets of PM2.5 samples were collected from the three monitoring stations in Chiang-Mai, Bangkok, and Phuket from July 2020 to June 2021. Hotspot numbers and other meteorological parameters were obtained using NOAA-20 weather satellites coupled with the Global Land Data Assimilation System. Although PCA revealed that crop residue burning and wildfires are the two main sources of PM2.5, ANNs highlighted the importance of wet deposition as the main depletion mechanism of particulate WSIS and carbonaceous aerosols. Additionally, Mg2+ and Ca2+ were deeply connected with albedo, plausibly owing to their strong hygroscopicity as the CCNs responsible for cloud formation.
