ISSN:
1573-2932
Keywords:
atmosphere
;
Korea
;
lead
;
Pb/Fe ratio
;
urban/nonurban
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
Notes:
Abstract The geographical and temporal distribution patterns of atmospheric lead (Pb) were investigated using the data acquired from four sampling locations in Won Ju City, Kang Won Do, Korea (February 1991 to August 1995). The monthly atmospheric Pb concentrations of four study sites were found in the range of 0.005-0.250 (site #1: grassland, N=47), 0.013–0.405 (site #2: residential, N=53), 0.004–0.420 (site #3: commercial, N=50), and 0.004-1.881 µg m-3 (site #4: industrial, N=52). From all four sampling stations, maximum concentrations of Pb commonly occurred during winter, whilst minimum concentrations were typically observed during summer. Although seasonal differences in meteorological conditions are important to explain such temporal distribution trends, the increase in Pb levels during the spring season, especially during the month of April appears to reflect the influence of soil dust evasion from China. While Pb distributions were strongly affected by seasonality, examination of inter-annual variation trends revealed that the Pb levels had been gradually decreasing over the study periods and that such phenomenon was ubiquitous throughout all the study sites. The annual decrease rates of Pb, computed from the regression analysis, spanned from –0.014 (grassland) to –0.055 µg m-3 yr-1 (industrial). The existence of strong geographical variabilities was also confirmed by the development of a concentration gradient across the four sampling sites on the order: industrial (0.326±0.307, N=52) ≫ commercial (0.157±0.104, N=50) 〉 residential (0.149±0.102, N=53) 〉 grassland (0.088±0.060, N=47). A series of statistical analysis on the data sets in concert with computation of Pb/Fe elemental ratios indicate that the industrial sources may not directly be influencing the Pb levels of the other studied sites. Albeit changes in its long-term distribution trends, the data collected from this study confirm that atmospheric Pb may be classified as a group of constituents whose distribution is rather predictable spatiotemporally due both to: (1) strong repetitiveness of seasonal distribution trends and (2) relative spatial homogeneities that are associated with its unique physicochemical properties.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1026459527714
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