Studying the chemical composition of atmospheric particles to
identify sources of air pollution
Dominik van Pinxteren
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Atmospheric Chemistry
Department (ACD), Leipzig, Germany
Atmospheric aerosol particles pose a significant threat to human health. They can be
emitted from a large variety of primary sources or can be formed in secondary
processes from anthropogenic and biogenic precursor gases. The resulting chemical
composition of ambient particles is highly variable and can be very complex.
At TROPOS ACD we develop analytical methods to address this complexity and
determine a range of important aerosol constituents. Analysing individual compounds
helps elucidating important processes in atmospheric chemistry, while knowledge of
the detailed composition of particles is the basis for a quantitative source
apportionment using statistical methods.
In my presentation I will give some background on the atmospheric aerosol, provide
examples of analytical developments and present results of two field studies we have
performed in the past years. The first field study dealt with chemical aerosol-cloud
interactions at a mountain site and their implications for particle composition including
the formation of sulfate and organic mass. The second study detailed present-day
sources of particle pollution the city of Leipzig, which were obtained by
comprehensively analysing particle composition at several sites around the city and
proved useful to further pollution abatement strategies of local authorities.