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Methods, fluxes and sources of gas phase alkyl nitrates in the coastal air

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Abstract

The daily and seasonal atmospheric concentrations, deposition fluxes and emission sources of a few C3–C9 gaseous alkyl nitrates (ANs) at the Belgian coast (De Haan) on the Southern North Sea were determined. An adapted sampler design for low- and high-volume air-sampling, optimized sample extraction and clean-up, as well as identification and quantification of ANs in air samples by means of gas chromatography mass spectrometry, are reported. The total concentrations of ANs ranged from 0.03 to 85 pptv and consisted primarily of the nitro-butane and nitro-pentane isomers. Air mass backward trajectories were calculated by the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to determine the influence of main air masses on AN levels in the air. The shorter chain ANs have been the most abundant in the Atlantic/Channel/UK air masses, while longer chain ANs prevailed in continental air. The overall mean N fluxes of the ANs were slightly higher for summer than those for winter-spring, although their contributions to the total nitrogen flux were low. High correlations between AN and HNO2 levels were observed during winter/spring. During summer, the shorter chain ANs correlated well with precipitation. Source apportionment by means of principal component analysis indicated that most of the gas phase ANs could be attributed to traffic/combustion, secondary photochemical formation and biomass burning, although marine sources may also have been present and a contributing factor.

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Acknowledgments

One of the authors (Alin C. Dirtu) acknowledges an EC grant within Marie Curie program HPMT-CT-2001-00310. The authors are thankful for the technical support provided by Jan Van Loock (UA), André Cattrijsse, Frank Broucke and Francisco Hernandez (VLIZ). The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and/or READY website (http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready.html) used in this publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp (UA), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium

    Alin C. Dirtu, Anna J. Buczyńska, Rodrigo Favoreto, László Bencs, René Van Grieken & Luc Van Vaeck

  2. Department of Chemistry, “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, 700506, Iasi, Romania

    Alin C. Dirtu

  3. Department of Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    Ana F. L. Godoi & Ricardo H. M. Godoi

  4. Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, POB 49, 1525, Budapest, Hungary

    László Bencs

  5. Division of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK

    Sanja S. Potgieter-Vermaak

  6. Molecular Science Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, PO Wits, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa

    Sanja S. Potgieter-Vermaak

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  1. Alin C. Dirtu
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  2. Anna J. Buczyńska
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  3. Ana F. L. Godoi
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  4. Rodrigo Favoreto
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  5. László Bencs
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  6. Sanja S. Potgieter-Vermaak
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  7. Ricardo H. M. Godoi
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  8. René Van Grieken
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  9. Luc Van Vaeck
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Correspondence to László Bencs.

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Dirtu, A.C., Buczyńska, A.J., Godoi, A.F.L. et al. Methods, fluxes and sources of gas phase alkyl nitrates in the coastal air. Environ Monit Assess 186, 6445–6457 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3866-7

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