Title: Ionic composition of aerosols at Northwestern Turkey

Authors: Deniz D. Genç Tokgöz; Güray Doğan; Ali İhsan İlhan; Tülay Balta; Gürdal Tuncel

Addresses: Department of Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey; Department of Environmental Engineering, Bülent Ecevit University, 67100, Zonguldak, Turkey ' Department of Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey; Department of Environmental Engineering, Akdeniz University, 07058, Antalya, Turkey ' Directorate of Research Department, General Directorate of Turkish State Meteorological Service, 06120, Ankara, Turkey ' Directorate of Research Department, General Directorate of Turkish State Meteorological Service, 06120, Ankara, Turkey ' Department of Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract: In this study, ionic compositions of 350 aerosol samples collected between April 2006 and May 2008 in a rural area at Northwestern Turkey (Black Sea coast of Turkey) were discussed. Ions accounted for approximately 30% of PM mass. Contributions of secondary aerosol species (NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ and NH₄²⁺) were higher than the ions with crustal origin. This indicated that sampling station was under the influence of long range transport because there were no industrial emissions around. Concentrations of ions demonstrated a large variation from day to day. Mann-Whitney W test was applied to compare the medians of summer and winter concentrations of ions. All ions, except for NH₄²⁺ and SO₄²⁻, showed statistically significant difference between seasons with 95% confidence level.

Keywords: aerosols; air pollution; anion; cation; climate change; daily variation; global warming; long-range transport; seasonal variation; Turkey; ionic composition; rural areas; air quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2015.067747

International Journal of Global Warming, 2015 Vol.7 No.2, pp.161 - 172

Received: 06 Sep 2012
Accepted: 31 Mar 2013
Published online: 05 Mar 2015 *

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