Chemical composition and source analysis of carbonaceous aerosol particles at a mountaintop site in central Sweden

AbstractThe chemical composition of atmospheric particulate matter at Mt. Areskutan, a mountaintop site in central Sweden, was analysed with a focus on its carbonaceous content. Filter samples taken during the Cloud and Aerosol Experiment at Are (CAEsAR 2014) were analysed by means of a thermo-optical method and ion chromatography. Additionally, the particle light absorption and particle number size distribution measurements for the entire campaign were added to the analysis. Mean airborne concentrations of organic and elemental carbon during CAEsAR 2014 were OC = 0.85  0.80 g m and EC = 0.06 0.06 g m, respectively. Elemental to organic carbon ratios varied between EC/OC = 0.02 and 0.19. During the study a large wildfire occurred in Vastmanland, Sweden, with the plume reaching our study site. This led to significant increases in OC and EC concentrations (OC = 3.04  0.03 g m and EC = 0.24  0.00 g m). The mean mass-specific absorption coefficient observed during the campaign was  = 9.17.3 mg (at wavelength ...