Metallic composition and source apportionment of fine and coarse particles using positive matrix factorization in the southern Black Sea atmosphere

In this study, coarse- (PM2.5-10) and fine (PM2.5) fraction aerosol samples were collected using a dichotomous sampler, and their metallic composition (Mg, Al, Ti, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence. The average crustal enrichment factor (EFc) values of Pb, Cu, SO42−, and Zn are greater than 10 for both coarse- and fine-fraction aerosols, which indicates that anthropogenic sources account for the concentrations of these four elements in both the fractions. In this study, positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used for the source apportionment of PM2.5 mass in the Zonguldak atmosphere. A total of six factors were identified, which can be interpreted as either emission sources or physically meaningful factors. The goodness of the six-factor solution for the PMF model was tested by comparing the measured and the modeled PM2.5 masses. An excellent agreement was found between the measured and the modeled fine masses, which indicates that the six-factor-PMF solution adopted in this study accurately accounts for the observed PM2.5 mass in the city of Zonguldak, the city is located at the middle of the Black Sea coasts of Turkey. ► PM samples were collected in the southern part of the Black Sea region, Turkey. ► Chemical composition of PM, and local meteorological factors were discussed. ► PMF used for the source apportionment of PM2.5 in the Zonguldak derived six factors ► The high loading of K indicated a mixing of wood and coal combustion for heating. ► The g-scores indicated that there is no seasonality in the source contribution.