Clustered long-range transport routes and potential sources of PM2.5 and their chemical characteristics around the Taiwan Strait

This study investigated the spatiotemporal variation, chemical characteristics, source apportionment, and their contribution for clustered transport routes of atmospheric fine particle (PM2.5) around the Taiwan Strait. Atmospheric PM2.5 was simultaneously collected at three selected sampling sites around the Taiwan Strait in the years of 2013-2015. Field sampling results showed that atmospheric PM2.5 concentrations varied with the clustered transport routes. Backward trajectory analyses suggested that PM2.5 concentrations under the northerly wind conditions were generally higher than those under the southerly wind conditions. Chemical analysis results showed that the most abundant chemical composition were secondary inorganic aerosols (SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+), natural crustal materials (Mg, Ca, AL, K, and Fe), and anthropogenic metals (Pb, Ni, and Zn). Moreover, high OC/EC ratios of PM2.5 were commonly observed at the west-side site located at the downwind of major stationary sources. Furthermore, primary organic carbons (POC) were always higher than secondary organic carbons (SOC) on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The concentrations of chemical species from the trajectory NWW (southern China) were much higher than other trajectories. Integrating the results obtained from receptor modeling and backward trajectory simulation indicated that high PM2.5 concentrations were transported from North China, the eastern coast of China, Korea Peninsula, and South Japan. It was mainly attributed to the combination of the relatively elevated emissions from coal burning for space heating, and long-range transport (LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT) of PM2.5 from upwind sources. The source apportionment of secondary aerosols were in order of east-side site > offshore site > west-side site, suggesting that aged secondary particles could be formed during the transportation process by longer range and duration toward the east-side site of Taiwan Strait and the offshore site. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.