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Biomass Burning in Southern Africa: Individual Particle Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols and Savanna Fire Samples

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Abstract

Ambient atmospheric aerosols and savanna fireparticulate emission samples from southern Africa werecharacterised in terms of particle classes and theirnumber abundance by electron probe X-ray microanalysis(EPXMA). About ten particle classes were identifiedfor each sample. The major classes werealuminosilicates and sea salts for ambient coarse(2–10 μm equivalent aerodynamic diameter (EAD))samples, and K-S and S-only particles for ambient fine(<2 μm EAD) samples. The K-S particles are oneof the major products of biomass burning. The EPXMAresults were found to be consistent with the resultsfrom bulk analyses on a sample by sample basis. Forsavanna fire fine samples, quantitative EPXMA revealedthat many particles had a composition of simple saltssuch as KCl. Some particles had a deviatingcomposition in the sense that more ionic species wereinvolved in sustaining the balance between cations andanions, and they were composite or mixed salts.Because of extensive processing during the atmospherictransport, the composition of the K-S particles in theambient samples was different from K2SO4,and such particles were enriched with S. The finepyrogenic KCl particles and the fine sea-saltparticles were much depleted in chlorine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Centre for Environmental Analysis and Measurements, Beijing, 100029, P.R. China

    Xiande Liu

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, UIA, B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Piet Van Espen & Freddy Adams

  3. Institute for Nuclear Sciences, University of Gent, B-9000, Gent, Belgium

    Jan Cafmeyer & Willy Maenhaut

Authors
  1. Xiande Liu
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  2. Piet Van Espen
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  3. Freddy Adams
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  4. Jan Cafmeyer
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  5. Willy Maenhaut
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Liu, X., Van Espen, P., Adams, F. et al. Biomass Burning in Southern Africa: Individual Particle Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols and Savanna Fire Samples. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 36, 135–155 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006387031927

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