Measurements of SOx, NOx and aerosol species on Bermuda

https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-6981(86)90158-7Get rights and content

Abstract

During August 1982 and January and February 1983, General Motors Research Laboratories operated an air monitoring site on the southwest coast of Bermuda. The data show that the levels of the NOx and SOx species reaching Bermuda are determined by the direction of the air flow. The highest levels of sulfate (mean = 4.0 μg m−3), nitric acid (126 ppt) and other species are observed when air masses arrive from the northeastern United States while the lowest levels (sulfate = 1.1 μg m−3; nitric acid = 41 ppt) occur during air flow from the SE direction. With westerly air flow, increases in many anthropogenic constituents such as particulate sulfate, lead, elemental carbon, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid and ozone are observed. These species are generally the lowest during SE winds which bring high concentrations of soil- and crustal-related aerosol species. The source of this crustal material appears to be the Sahara Desert. On the average, the levels of anthropogenic constituents are higher in winter because of frequent intrusions of N American air masses. Conversely, the levels of crustal materials are higher in summer when the SE flow is more prevalent.

References (52)

  • J.E. Harwood et al.

    A colorimetric method for ammonia in natural water

    Water Res.

    (1970)
  • K.A. Rahn

    Silicon and aluminum in atmospheric aerosols: crust-air fractionation?

    Atmospheric Environment

    (1976)
  • D.M. Whelpdale et al.

    Advection climatology for the East Coast of North America

    Atmospheric Environment

    (1984)
  • G.T. Wolff

    On the nature of nitrate in coarse continental aerosols

    Atmospheric Environment

    (1984)
  • G.T. Wolff

    Characteristics and consequences of soot in the atmosphere

    Envir. Int.

    (1985)
  • G.T. Wolff et al.

    Visibility-reducing species in the Denver ‘brown cloud’—II. Sources and temporal patterns

    Atmospheric Environment

    (1981)
  • G.T. Wolff et al.

    Relationships between fine particulate species, gaseous pollutants, and meteorological parameters in Detroit

    Atmospheric Environment

    (1985)
  • M.O. Andreae

    Soot carbon and excess fine potassium: long-range transport of combustion-derived aerosols

    Science

    (1983)
  • D.C. Blanchard et al.

    The production, concentration, and vertical distribution of seasalt aerosol

    Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.

    (1980)
  • E.V. Browell et al.
  • R. Chesselet et al.

    The origin of particulate organic carbon in the marine atmosphere as indicated by its stable carbon isotopic composition

    Geophys. Res. Lett.

    (1981)
  • T.M. Church et al.

    The chemistry of Western Atlantic precipitation at the Mid-Atlantic Coast and on Bermuda

    J. geophys. Res.

    (1982)
  • R.A. Cox

    Some measurements of ground level NO, NO2, and O3 concentrations at an unpolluted maritime site

    Tellus

    (1977)
  • T.P. Daum et al.

    The Brookhaven national laboratory filter pack system for collection and determination of air pollutants

    (1982)
  • R.A. Duce et al.

    Trace metals in the marine atmosphere: sources and fluxes

  • R.A. Duce et al.

    Atmospheric trace metals at remote northern and southern hemisphere sites: pollution or natural?

    Science

    (1975)
  • Cited by (92)

    • Wet and dry deposition of mercury in Bermuda

      2014, Atmospheric Environment
      Citation Excerpt :

      In studies where they have been observed, these pollution events are further characterized using ancillary data such as radon (222Rn) and carbon monoxide (CO). Other species like nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) have been shown to reach Bermuda depending on the direction of air-flow with higher levels recorded when air masses arrived from the North Eastern US (Wolff et al., 1986; Savoie et al., 2002). It is probable that Hg emissions from North America and Europe could impact the island.

    • Chemical characterization of PM<inf>10</inf> and PM<inf>2.5</inf> mass concentrations emitted by heterogeneous traffic

      2011, Science of the Total Environment
      Citation Excerpt :

      NO3 in PM10 is derived from soil as well as formed in the atmosphere. During the day, it is formed by the reaction of atmospheric HNO3 with air-borne soil (Wolf et al., 1986), that the coarse particles act as a sink for nitric acid. In the night, NO3 is formed directly on the soil particles (Chandra Mouli et al., 2003).

    • Climatology of PM2.5 organic carbon concentrations from a review of ground-based atmospheric measurements by evolved gas analysis

      2009, Atmospheric Environment
      Citation Excerpt :

      Lower annual median OC concentrations are reported for 1979, corresponding to sites in Illinois and Maryland (Rosen and Hofmann, 1981). In 1982 high annual average OC concentrations are reported for California (Gray et al., 1986) and New Jersey (Gaffney et al., 1984), with lower concentrations for rural sites in Pennsylvania and Michigan (Cadle and Dasch, 1988), and Bermuda (Wolff et al., 1986). These strong trends suggest that atmospheric OC levels may be strongly influenced by land use patterns.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Current Affiliation: Dept. of Chemistry, University of Colorado-Denver, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

    View full text