How COVID-19 related policies reshaped organic aerosol source contributions in Central London

Abstract

Organic aerosol (OA), a major component of submicron particulate matter (PM1), has significant impacts on both human health and climate. Quantifying its sources is therefore crucial for developing effective mitigation strategies. Positive matrix factorisation (PMF) applied to aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) mass spectral data offers a robust approach for quantifying OA sources. A year-long study of ACSM data from London's Marylebone Road monitoring station during the COVID-19 pandemic provides insights into the impact of lockdown and the Eat Out To Help Out (EOTHO) scheme, which offered support to the hospitality industry during the pandemic, on PM composition and OA sources. Five OA sources were identified including hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA, traffic-related, 11 % to OA), cooking OA (COA, 20 %), biomass burning OA (BBOA, 12 %), more-oxidized oxygenated OA (MO-OOA, 38 %), and less-oxidized oxygenated OA (LO-OOA, 21 %). Lockdown significantly reduced HOA (-52 %), COA (-67 %), and BBOA (-42 %) compared to their pre-COVID levels, while EOTHO doubled COA (+100 %) compared to the post-lockdown period. However, MO-OOA and LO-OOA were less affected, as these primarily originated from long-range transport. This research has demonstrated the importance of commercial cooking as a significant source of OA (20 %) and PM1 (9 %) in urban areas. The co-emission of BBOA with COA observed in Central London showed a similar diurnal cycle and response to the EOTHO policy, indicating that cooking activities might be currently underestimated and contribute to urban BBOA. Therefore, more effort is required to quantify this source and develop targeted abatement policies to mitigate emissions as currently limited regulation is in force.