Chemical Characterization of Fine Atmospheric Particles of Water-Soluble Ions and Carbonaceous Species in a Tropical Urban Atmosphere over the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain

Ambient fine aerosols and their sources were evaluated in an eastern Indian megacity, Kolkata (KOL), from September 2010 to August 2011. A submicron aerosol sampler (SAS) with two stage stacked filter units (SFU) was devised for simultaneous but discrete collection of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSII) and carbonaceous aerosols (CA; elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC)). Characteristics of the WSII and CA were identified using ion chromatography and an OC-EC analyzer, respectively, adopting the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments (IMPROVE-A) protocol. The mean annual concentrations of the WSII showed a predominance of cations (anions), consisting of Ca^(2+), Mg^(2+), and Na^+ (Cl^-, NO_3^-, and SO_4^(2-)), with secondary aerosols (NH_4^+, NO_3^-, and SO_4^(2-)) and Ca^(2+) each constituting 25% and 30%, respectively, of the total WSII (T_(WSII)). The highest mean monthly concentration of SO_4^(2-) and NO_3^- was observed during the winter month of February and the summer months of March and May, respectively. A pronounced peak in the monthly mean for the non-sea salt-K^+ (nss-K^+) concentration was noticed during October and April, implying the strong influence of biomass burning emissions during these months. Among the sea salt (SS), anthropogenic (AN), and dust (DT) sources of the T_(WSII), a predominant contribution from DT in August and from AN in November, April, and May was inferred. The mean annual concentration of OC was three times higher than that of EC, with 43% of it being secondary OC. Whereas the major sources of OC were inferred to be paved dust, coal combustion, and biomass burning, those of EC were industrial and motor-vehicle non-exhaust emissions, coal combustion, and motor vehicle exhaust.