Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Factors influencing the atmospheric aerosol composition at two sites in western Oregon

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/mg74qp602

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  • Fine and coarse particles were collected for eight weeks during the summer of 1991, at a coastal site (Yaquina Head) and a non-industrial site (Corvallis) in Western Oregon to characterize the aerosol composition and evaluate whether the sites are appropriate for sampling "background" marine air. Concentrations of up to 11 species (S0₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, Cl⁻, Na, Fe, Ni, Pb, Cr, Co, Sb, and CH₃SO₃H) for 95 samples were determined using four chemical analysis techniques. The influences of seasalt and soil dust were identified by analyzing concentrations of Na and Fe in the aerosol samples. Relative elemental composition in fine and coarse fractions indicated that the aerosol composition at Yaquina Head was greatly affected by seasalt. "Seasalt" enrichment factors (relative to Na) indicated that seasalt is the only source of Cl⁻ and SO₄²⁻ in coarse particles at Yaquina Head. In contrast, the seasalt influence was relatively weak at the Corvallis site. "Crustal" enrichment factors suggested that soil dust was not a major source of Na⁺, Cl⁻, or S0₄²⁻ at either site. A simple conceptual model that relies on meteorological conditions was used to identify sampling periods with long range transport from either marine or continental areas as well as local influences. This model suggested that during 61% of the experiment period the aerosols were advected from marine areas. At Yaquina Head, 52% of the sampling periods are associated with the "clean" background air (marine air with no local influences). Thus, Yaquina Head represents a useful location for collecting marine background air from the Pacific Ocean. The chemical composition of the marine background air collected at the Yaquina Head site is similar to that for other remote sites around the world. At Corvallis, "clean" marine background air can occasionally (21%) be collected even though Corvallis is located 64 km from the ocean.
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