Importance of local non-fossil sources to carbonaceous aerosols at the eastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau, China:?14C and d???????13C evidences

Carbonaceous particles are an important radiative forcing agent in the atmosphere, with large temporal and spatial variations in their concentrations and compositions, especially in remote regions. This study reported the delta C-14 and delta C-13 of total carbon (TC) and water-insoluble particulate carbon (IPC) of the total suspended particles (TSP) and PM2.5 at a remote site of the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region that is influenced by heavy air pollution from Southwest China. The average organic carbon and elemental carbon concentrations of TSP samples in this study were 3.20 +/- 2.38 mu g m(-3) and 0.68 +/- 0.67 mu g m(-3), respectively, with low and high values in summer and winter, respectively. The fossil fuel contributions of TC in TSP and PM2.5 samples were 18.91 +/- 7.22% and 23.13 +/- 12.52%, respectively, both of which were far lower than that in Southwest China, indicating the importance of non-fossil contributions from local sources. The delta C-13 of TC in TSP samples of the study site was -27.06 +/- 0.96 parts per thousand, which is between the values of long-range transported sources (e.g., Southwest China) and local biomass combustion emissions. Therefore, despite the contribution from the long-range transport of particles, aerosols emitted from local biomass combustion also have an important influence on carbonaceous particles at the study site. The findings of this work can be applied to other remote sites on the eastern TP and should be considered in related research in the future.

Automated summary

Carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere exhibit large variations in concentrations and compositions, especially in remote regions. This study investigated the delta C-14 and delta C-13 of TC and IPC in TSP and PM2.5 at a remote site on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The findings reveal the important influence of local biomass combustion emissions on carbonaceous particles.