Depositions of Acid Aerosols and Black Carbon from Biomass Burning Over the Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve Forest, Thailand

Abstract

Burning of biomass is an important source of acid aerosols and black carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In the tropics, the formation of secondary organic and inorganic aerosols depends on meteorological parameters. High humidity and rain washout both reduces air borne aerosol concentrations. We monitored the concentrations of aerosols associated with biomass burning from July to December 2012 at the Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve (SBR) - a UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) reserve. Considerable biomass burning is known to occur in the vicinity of SBR. All meteorological instruments were installed on 36 m tower. Air samples were collected by the filter packs method. The organic acids identified samples included citrate, tartrate, malate, formate, acetate, succinate and lactate. The concentration of organic acids was 6, 27 and 100 times higher than black carbon, sulfate and nitrate, respectively. We used the inferential method to determine the deposition flux of aerosols. The deposition of organic acids was obtained in the ranges of 4.9-51.0 μg m-2min-1; black carbon, 1.2-7.8 μg m-2min-1; Sulfate, 0.2-0.5 μg m-2min-1 and nitrate, 0.3-1.0 μg m-2min-1. The deposition depended on the atmospheric concentration and deposition velocity of each component. The deposition velocity also varied with season and canopy surfaces

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Author Information
Phuvasa Chanonmunag, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, Thailand
Pojanie Khummongkol, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
Khattiya Sukprasert, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
Yutthana Tantiwiwat, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, Thailand
Taksin Artchwakom, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, Thailand

• Category: Environmental Sustainability and Environmental Management: Atmosphere and Air

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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