Atmospheric Aerosol Elements over the Inland Tibetan Plateau: Concentration, Seasonality, and Transport

• DOI: 10.4209/aaqr.2015.05.0307
• Publication Date: 2015-11-09T09:11:30Z
• Authors: Shichang Kang; Pengfei Chen; Chaoliu Li; Bin Liu; Zhiyuan Cong
• Keywords: Seasonality; East Asian Monsoon; Dust storm; Dominance (genetics); Scavenging; Empirical orthogonal functions; Mass concentration (chemistry); Deposition

Between November 2005 and 2007, weekly total suspended particle samples were collected at the Nam Co station in inland Tibetan Plateau (TP). Through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, twenty-nine elements analyzed their sources fluxes investigated. Mean elemental concentrations lower than those edge of TP. Some elements, such as Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, exhibited high enrichment factors (Cr: 22; Ni: 17; Cd: 23; Pb: 9), indicating possible anthropogenic influence this remote region, particularly during pre-monsoon monsoon seasons. In addition, an empirical orthogonal function analysis revealed dominance crustal-origin rather aerosol. Furthermore, backward air trajectories demonstrated that region was mainly influenced by masses from Central South Asia. Accordingly, because dust storms Asia within TP, crustal element concentrations, Al, higher winter seasons season. By contrast, Cr relatively pollutants transported Asia, where atmospheric brown clouds are concentrated biomass combustion is prevalent. Dry deposition aerosols dominated non-monsoon period, which useful to interpret records TP ice cores lake sediments.