Seasonal Pattern and Sources of Particulate Carbon in Kananaskis and Calgary, Alberta

Date
2018-05-18
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Sources, seasonal pattern of elemental carbon(EC), organic carbon(OC), and total carbon from dry deposition and precipitation in Kananaskis and Calgary were assessed using thermo-optical methods. Vehicle exhaust was inferred to be dominant source of carbon throughout the year with an identical OC/EC of 22±14 in Calgary and 22±5 in Kananaskis in dry deposition. Biogenic OC signal was absent in Kananaskis in precipitation or dry deposition. Biomass burning, with a lower OC/EC both in winter and summer, was potentially associated with recreation and tourism in Kananaskis. Sources from long-range transport impact both locations simultaneously. A lower boundary layer at night concentrates TC and a higher boundary layer in the day lower the concentration in both locations. OC is much more easily removed by precipitation than EC due to is larger surface area and size and OC/EC ratios in precipitation reaching 130 were observed in Calgary while those in Kananaskis reached 46.
Description
Keywords
Particulate carbon, Organic carbon and elemental carbon, Precipitation, Dry deposition
Citation
Chenqi G. (2018). Seasonal Pattern and Sources of Particulate Carbon in Kananaskis and Calgary, Alberta (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31934