Water-soluble organic carbon in urban aerosol : concentrations, size distributions and contribution to particulate matter

The aim of this study was to characterize the concentrations and particle mass size distributions of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in urban aerosols. The sample collection was carried out in spring 2006 at the SMEAR III station in Helsinki, Finland, by using a size-segregating method (MOUDI) and by collecting sub-micrometer fraction of aerosols on the filter. During the three-month measurement period, a major 12-day biomass burning pollution episode was observed. Concentrations of WSOC, organic carbon, monosaccharide anhydrides, inorganic ions and some organic acids (oxalic, succinic and malonic acid) were analyzed from the PM1 samples. The measured OC and WSOC concentrations varied in ranges 0.67–15.7 µg m–3 and 0.26–10.7 µg m–3, respectively. The WSOC/OC concentration ratio was between 0.30 and 0.89 with an average of 0.54. Size distributions of WSOC, inorganic ions and total mass were determined from the MOUDI samples. WSOC had bimodal size distributions with a clear accumulation mode below 1 µm of particle aerodynamic diameter and minor coarse mode at sizes > 1 µm.