Summertime aerosol over the west of Ireland dominated by secondary aerosol during long-range transport

Abstract

The chemical composition and sources of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM 1 ) on Galway, a west coast city of Ireland, were characterized using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor during summertime in June 2016. Organic aerosol (OA) was found to be the major part of NR-PM 1 (54%), followed by secondary inorganic sulfate (25%), ammonium (11%), and nitrate (10%). Factor analysis revealed that oxygenated OA (OOA) was the dominant OA factor, on average accounting for 84% of the total OA. The remaining 16% of OA was attributed to primary peat burning associated with domestic heating activities. As a result, secondary organic and inorganic aerosol together accounted for 91% of the total NR-PM 1 , pointing to an aged aerosol population originating from secondary formation during long-range transport. Concentration-weighted trajectory analysis indicated that these secondary aerosols were mainly associated with easterly long-range transport from the UK and/or France.