Elemental composition of different air masses over Jeju Island, South Korea

Abstract

We investigated the characteristics (concentrations and compositional changes) of atmospheric elements in total suspended particulates through source-receptor relationships using cluster analyses to classify air mass back-trajectories arriving at Gosan, Jeju Island, South Korea, from October 2003 to December 2008. Five trajectory clusters were chosen to explain the transport regimes. Continental outflows of natural and anthropogenic aerosols from Asian dust source regions and eastern China during the colder period could increase element concentrations at Gosan. Elemental levels at Gosan decreased in air masses that passed over marine regions (East China Sea, Pacific Ocean/southern side of Kyushu Island in Japan, and East Sea/southern side of South Korea) during the warmer rainy period due to lower source intensity and dilution by the marine air mass. Anthropogenic pollutants were often major components in air masses passing over marine regions. Air mass characterization by elemental concentration and composition revealed that enrichment by non-sea-salt sulfur in the air mass originated from eastern China, indicative of the main sulfur emitter in northeast Asia. The apportionment of V and Ni by principal component analysis as a marker of heavy oil combustion suggested different residence times and deposition rates from other anthropogenic components in the air. Regionally intermediate concentrations of pollutants were found in the atmosphere over the Korean peninsula. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.