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Variations in mixing states of organic aerosol composition and formation of secondary organic aerosol at background region

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Abstract

Investigation on organic particles was limited in the background regions of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and little information has been obtained on organic particles of Lin’an (LA). In the present study, the morphology, composition, mixing state, and size of organic aerosols with diameter less than 1 µm were characterized at Lin’an from 20 March 2019 to 20 April 2019. In all samples, irregular types of organic matter (OM) particles were high fraction during morning (72.4%), afternoon (59.1%), and evening (52%), and most of them were internally mixed. In our study, we identified a higher fraction of internally mixed particles in evenings (85%), followed by afternoon (81%), and fewer mixed particles in mornings (68%), indicating particle growth during afternoon and evening. Further, the results show that fraction of organic coating particles was higher in evening (27.4%) and afternoon (12%) indicates strong photochemical processes and formation of secondary organic aerosol on the inorganic particles and new particles formation. Our study reveals that biomass burning in the morning and coal burning from heavy industries, power plants, and vehicles in surrounding urban regions in the afternoon and evenings significantly affected background air quality.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, G. Pulla Reddy Engineering College, Kurnool, 518007, Andhra Pradesh, India

    A. P. Lingaswamy

  2. Department of Physics, Sree Krishna College Guruvayur, Kerala, 680102, India

    T. Nishanth

  3. Atmospheric Science Research Laboratory, Dept. of Physics, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, 603 203, India

    T. V. Lakshimi Kumar

  4. Department of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, 576104, India

    M. K. Satheesh Kumar

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Contributions

A.P. Lingaswamy: Sampling, Characterization, Investigation, Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Writing original draft, and Supervision. T. Nishanth: Investigation, Characterization and review & editing. T.V. Lakshimi Kumar: Investigation and review & editing. M.K.Satheesh Kumar: Investigation and review & editing.

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Correspondence to A. P. Lingaswamy.

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We are thankful to Prof. Dipesh Rupakheti, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, China.

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Lingaswamy, A.P., Nishanth, T., Kumar, T.V.L. et al. Variations in mixing states of organic aerosol composition and formation of secondary organic aerosol at background region. J Atmos Chem 80, 157–172 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-022-09445-0

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