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Quantification and source apportionment of atmospheric trace gases over Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Abstract

Five atmospheric trace gases were measured in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using an automated direct sensing gas monitoring system. The average concentrations of CO, NO, NO2, TVOC, and O3 were 2603.6 ± 1216.4, 281.5 ± 158.0, 182.7 ± 69.4, 10,068.2 ± 5296.1 and 36.6 ± 23.6 µg/m3. The measured trace gas concentrations demonstrated significant seasonal and monthly fluctuations, with NO and CO concentrations being the highest in winter, O3 and TVOC concentrations being the highest during the monsoon season, and NO2 concentrations being the highest during the pre-monsoon season. Air mass trajectories and wind rose plots during the monsoon were compared to the winter. It showed that air masses from the southeast and south had an impact on the quantity of most of the trace gases whilst they traveled over the Bay of Bengal throughout the monsoon period. In contrast, air masses from the northwestern region, north, and the west had a bigger effect on the rising amount of trace gases across the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP) during the winter season. NO2 (182.7 µg/m3) had the maximum concentration of the gases measured and crossed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual recommended value. The source characteristics of NOx, TVCO, and O3 gases were determined using the positive matrix factorization (PMF 5.0) model. The combustion of fossil fuels and aerosols were found to be the major sources of NOx and O3, with aerosol formation being the primary source of TVOC concentration.

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Data availability

The data generated in the present investigation may be obtained from the corresponding author upon an appropriate request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors graciously acknowledge the financial support of the Department of Soil, Water & Environment as well as the Department of Chemistry to the completion of the research. The authors also acknowledge the Department of Environment (DoE) for providing the data for validation.

Funding

The authors express gratitude to the Department of Chemistry, Dhaka University for providing financial assistance to carry out this research project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    A.T.M. Mustafa Kamal & Sirajul Hoque

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    Md. Safiqul Islam & Abdus Salam

  3. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    Shahid Uz Zaman

  4. Department of Natural Science, Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    Md. Jalil Miah

  5. Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Tanvir Ahmed

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  1. A.T.M. Mustafa Kamal
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Contributions

A.T.M. Mustafa Kamal: Performed research, analyzed the data and wrote explanations.Md Safiqul Islam: Monitored experiments, analyzed data, explain mechanism, and wrote manuscript.Shahid Uz Zaman: evaluated data.Md Jalil Miah: evaluated data and drawing figure. Tanvir Ahmed: collected and evaluated data.Sirajul Hoque: Supervised research work.Abdus Salam: Planning and supervision of research and manuscript.

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Kamal, A.M., Islam, M.S., Zaman, S.U. et al. Quantification and source apportionment of atmospheric trace gases over Dhaka, Bangladesh. J Atmos Chem 81, 4 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-024-09457-y

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