Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2725-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2725-2019
Research article
 | 
04 Mar 2019
Research article |  | 04 Mar 2019

Molecular characterization of organic aerosols in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: insights into primary and secondary sources

Xin Wan, Shichang Kang, Maheswar Rupakheti, Qianggong Zhang, Lekhendra Tripathee, Junming Guo, Pengfei Chen, Dipesh Rupakheti, Arnico K. Panday, Mark G. Lawrence, Kimitaka Kawamura, and Zhiyuan Cong

Related authors

Trends, composition, and sources of carbonaceous aerosol at the Birkenes Observatory, northern Europe, 2001–2018
Karl Espen Yttri, Francesco Canonaco, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Markus Fiebig, Hans Gundersen, Anne-Gunn Hjellbrekke, Cathrine Lund Myhre, Stephen Matthew Platt, André S. H. Prévôt, David Simpson, Sverre Solberg, Jason Surratt, Kjetil Tørseth, Hilde Uggerud, Marit Vadset, Xin Wan, and Wenche Aas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7149–7170, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7149-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7149-2021, 2021
Short summary
Organic molecular tracers in the atmospheric aerosols from Lumbini, Nepal, in the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain: influence of biomass burning
Xin Wan, Shichang Kang, Quanlian Li, Dipesh Rupakheti, Qianggong Zhang, Junming Guo, Pengfei Chen, Lekhendra Tripathee, Maheswar Rupakheti, Arnico K. Panday, Wu Wang, Kimitaka Kawamura, Shaopeng Gao, Guangming Wu, and Zhiyuan Cong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8867–8885, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8867-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8867-2017, 2017
Short summary
Background aerosol over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau: observed characteristics of aerosol mass loading
Bin Liu, Zhiyuan Cong, Yuesi Wang, Jinyuan Xin, Xin Wan, Yuepeng Pan, Zirui Liu, Yonghong Wang, Guoshuai Zhang, Zhongyan Wang, Yongjie Wang, and Shichang Kang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 449–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-449-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-449-2017, 2017
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
The annual cycle and sources of relevant aerosol precursor vapors in the central Arctic during the MOSAiC expedition
Matthew Boyer, Diego Aliaga, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Silvia Bucci, Hélène Angot, Lubna Dada, Benjamin Heutte, Lisa Beck, Marina Duetsch, Andreas Stohl, Ivo Beck, Tiia Laurila, Nina Sarnela, Roseline C. Thakur, Branka Miljevic, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, Mikko Sipilä, Julia Schmale, and Tuija Jokinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12595–12621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12595-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12595-2024, 2024
Short summary
Opinion: How will advances in aerosol science inform our understanding of the health impacts of outdoor particulate pollution?
Imad El Haddad, Danielle Vienneau, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Robin Modini, Jay G. Slowik, Abhishek Upadhyay, Petros N. Vasilakos, David Bell, Kees de Hoogh, and Andre S. H. Prevot
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11981–12011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11981-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11981-2024, 2024
Short summary
Measurement report: Intra-annual variability of black carbon and brown carbon and their interrelation with meteorological conditions over Gangtok, Sikkim
Pramod Kumar, Khushboo Sharma, Ankita Malu, Rajeev Rajak, Aparna Gupta, Bidyutjyoti Baruah, Shailesh Yadav, Thupstan Angchuk, Jayant Sharma, Rakesh Kumar Ranjan, Anil Kumar Misra, and Nishchal Wanjari
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11585–11601, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11585-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11585-2024, 2024
Short summary
Long-range transport of air pollutants increases the concentration of hazardous components of PM2.5 in northern South America
Maria P. Velásquez-García, K. Santiago Hernández, James A. Vergara-Correa, Richard J. Pope, Miriam Gómez-Marín, and Angela M. Rendón
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11497–11520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11497-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11497-2024, 2024
Short summary
Dominant influence of biomass combustion and cross-border transport on nitrogen-containing organic compound levels in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Meng Wang, Qiyuan Wang, Steven Sai Hang Ho, Jie Tian, Yong Zhang, Shun-cheng Lee, and Junji Cao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11175–11189, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11175-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11175-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Alam, K., Mukhtar, A., Shahid, I., Blaschke, T., Majid, H., Rahman, S., Khan, R., and Rahman, N.: Source apportionment and characterization of particulate matter (PM10) in urban environment of Lahore, Aerosol Air Qual. Res., 14, 1851–1861, 2014. 
Andreae, M. O. and Merlet, P.: Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 15, 955–966, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000gb001382, 2001. 
Bauer, H., Claeys, M., Vermeylen, R., Schueller, E., Weinke, G., Berger, A., and Puxbaum, H.: Arabitol and mannitol as tracers for the quantification of airborne fungal spores, Atmos. Environ., 42, 588–593, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.10.013, 2008. 
Bhardwaj, P., Naja, M., Rupakheti, M., Lupascu, A., Mues, A., Panday, A. K., Kumar, R., Mahata, K. S., Lal, S., Chandola, H. C., and Lawrence, M. G.: Variations in surface ozone and carbon monoxide in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding broader regions during SusKat-ABC field campaign: role of local and regional sources, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11949–11971, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11949-2018, 2018. 
Bhattarai, H., Saikawa, E., Wan, X., Zhu, H., Ram, K., Gao, S., Kang, S., Zhang, Q., Zhang, Y., Wu, G., Wang, X., Kawamura, K., Fu, P., and Cong, Z.: Levoglucosan as a tracer of biomass burning: Recent progress and perspectives, Atmos. Res., 220, 20–33, 2019. 
Download
Short summary
The sources of primary and secondary aerosols in the Hindu Kush–Himalayan–Tibetan Plateau region are not well known. Organic molecular tracers are useful for aerosol source apportionment. The characterization of molecular tracers were first systemically investigated and the contribution from primary and secondary sources to carbonaceous aerosols was estimated in the Kathmandu Valley. Our results demonstrate that biomass burning contributed a significant fraction to OC in the Kathmandu Valley.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint