Source apportionment of PM2.5 at urban and suburban areas of the Pearl River Delta region, south China - With emphasis on ship emissions

Daily PM2.5 samples were collected at an urban site in Guangzhou in 2014 and at a suburban site in Zhuhai in 2014-2015. Samples were subject to chemical analysis for various chemical components including organic carbon (OC), element carbon (EC), major water-soluble inorganic ions, and trace elements. The annual average PM2.5 mass concentration was 48 +/- 22 mu g m(-3)and 45 +/- 25 mu g m(-3) in Guangzhou and Zhuhai, respectively, with the highest seasonal average concentration in winter and the lowest in summer at both sites. Regional transport of pollutants accompanied with different air mass origins arriving at the two sites and pollution sources in between the two cities caused larger seasonal variations in Zhuhai (>a factor of 3.5) than in Guangzhou (17% of PM2.5 mass concentrations. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.