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Biomass Burning is an Important Source of Organic Aerosols in Interior Alaska
Author(s) -
Haque Md. Mozammel,
Kawamura Kimitaka,
Deshmukh Dhananjay K.,
Kunwar Bhagawati,
Kim Yongwon
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1029/2021jd034586
Subject(s) - levoglucosan , environmental chemistry , total organic carbon , environmental science , air quality index , biomass burning , carbon fibers , aerosol , arctic , biomass (ecology) , tracer , chemistry , geography , meteorology , oceanography , geology , physics , nuclear physics , materials science , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material
Biomass burning (BB) affects air quality, the global cycling of carbon, climate, and human health. Intensive BB activities occur throughout the year due to wildfires and domestic wood burning in Fairbanks. We collected total suspended particle samples from the air in Fairbanks from June 2008 to June 2009. Here, we report seasonal variations in the molecular composition of organic aerosols and its BB contributions in Fairbanks. Levoglucosan is the dominant BB tracer (annual mean 67 ± 77 ng m −3 ), showing a winter maximum (145 ± 47 ng m −3 ) and spring minimum (12 ± 12 ng m −3 ). Levoglucosan showed significant correlations ( p < 0.001) with organic carbon (OC), water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and PM 2.5 , indicating a significant contribution of BB to hazes in Fairbanks. However, no correlation exists between levoglucosan and non‐sea salt potassium (nss‐K + ), which has been proposed as a BB tracer. We hypothesize that nss‐K + is removed by deposition on the inner surfaces of woodstove chimneys. Levoglucosan contributes 3.6% to OC and 6.3% to WSOC in winter, indicating that BB significantly affects carbonaceous aerosols in central Alaska. Moreover, positive matrix factorization analysis demonstrates that BB is an important source (47.5%) of Fairbanks year‐round aerosols. We conclude that domestic wood burning is an important source of atmospheric particles that impact the air quality of Fairbanks, especially in winter. We presumed that Fairbanks BB products might be transported to the remote Arctic, potentially affecting the chemical composition of Arctic aerosols. These findings will be useful to better understand the seasonal influence of BB on the Arctic and subarctic aerosols.