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Estimation of particle size distributions in the atmosphere—analysis of Fe and Ca particles as the representative examples

Abstract

Atmospheric aerosols, including primary aerosols emitted directly into the atmosphere and secondary aerosols generated

in the atmosphere from various chemically complex particles, cause a variety of environmental problems such as climate

change, photochemical smog formation, and a decrease in incoming solar radiation. Therefore, it is important to understand the

causes of aerosol particles and their impact on human society. In particular, particle size is an important indicator of lung

penetration depth, aerosol transport, and optical properties. Hence, we mathematically estimated the  airborne particle size

distributions of each chemical component by collecting aerosol samples from the atmosphere using two types of cyclone

samplers, large and small cyclone samplers. This study’s findings also suggest that calculated changes in particle size distribution

can reflect changes in particle sources. The higher resolution of the continuous functions will enable the detection of the subtle

changes in particle size distributions of each chemical component, which is helpful to understand the temporal changes in the

chemical properties of the airborne aerosol particles.  

Key words 

Aerosol coarse particle, Cyclone, Atmospheric chemical property, EDXRF, Numerical calcalation