• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.503-513
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• 2003

A single particle analytical technique, called low-Z electron probe X-ray microanalysis (low-Z EPMA) was applied to characterize atmospheric particles collected in Busan, Korea, over a daytime period in Dec. 2001. The ability to quantitatively analyze the low-Z elements, such as C, N, and 0, in microscopic volume enables the low-Z EPMA to specify the chemical composition of individual atmospheric particle. Various types of atmospheric particles such as organics, carbon-rich, aluminosilicates, silicon oxide, calcium carbonate, iron oxide, sodium chloride, sodium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and titanium oxide were identified. In the sample collected in Busan, sodium nitrate particles produced as a result of the reaction between sea salt and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere were most abundantly encountered both in the coarse and fine fractions. On the contrary, original sea salt particles were rarely observed. The fact that most of the carbonaceous particles were distributed in the fine fraction implies that their origin is anthropogenic.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.115-140
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• 2010

Great concerns about atmospheric aerosols are attributed to their multiple roles to atmospheric processes. For example, atmospheric aerosols influence global climate, directly by scattering or absorbing solar radiations and indirectly by serving as cloud condensation nuclei. They also have a significant impact on human health and visibility. Many of these effects depend on the size and composition of atmospheric aerosols, and thus detailed information on the physicochemical properties and the distribution of airborne particles is critical to accurately predict their impact on the Earth's climate as well as human health. A single particle analysis technique, named low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis (low-Z particle EPMA) that can determine the concentration of low-Z elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in a microscopic volume has been developed. The capability of quantitative analysis of low-Z elements in individual particle allows the characterization of especially important atmospheric particles such as sulfates, nitrates, ammonium, and carbonaceous particles. Furthermore, the diversity and the complicated heterogeneity of atmospheric particles in chemical compositions can be investigated in detail. In this review, the development and methodology of low-Z particle EPMA for the analysis of atmospheric aerosols are introduced. Also, its typical applications for the characterization of various atmospheric particles, i.e., on the chemical compositions, morphologies, the size segregated distributions, and the origins of Asian dust, urban aerosols, indoor aerosols in underground subway station, and Arctic aerosols, are illustrated.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.39-45
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• 1987

Rubber particles emitted from automobile tire tread by abrasion were collected by Andersen sampler with atmospheric dusts. The samples of atmospheric dusts at each stage were analysed for rubber particles by Curie point pyrolysis-gas chromatography with Apiezon grease L column. Pyrolysis was done at 740$^circ$C for 5 seconds. In the pyrogram, NR rubber (bus and truck tire tread) was determined by isoprene peak, and SBR rubber (passenger car tire tread) was determined by styrene peak simultaneously. The size distribution of rubber particles was proportioned with the size of rubber particles. The concentrations of NR and SBR rubber were 0.23 $\mug/m^3$ and 1.31 $\mug/m^3$, respectively, in the atmospheric dusts which were collected from the street in front of Yonsei University on April 1986. The ratio of tire tread rubber in the atmospheric dusts was about 0.63%.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.22 no.E1
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• pp.45-48
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• 2006

Mass size distributions of atmospheric particles in Cheonan were determined using a high volume air sampler equipped with a 5-stage cascade impactor. Bimodal distributions that are typical for urban atmospheric particles were obtained. A MMD of the fine particle mode was $0.47{\pm}0.05{\mu}m$ with a GSD of $2.72{\pm}0.21$, and those of the coarse particles were $5.15{\pm}0.18{\mu}m\;and\;2.09{\pm}0.09$, respectively. The annual average concentrations of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 74.1, 67.5, 54.2, and $42.3{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Although the daily PM10 concentrations were under the current National Standard, the daily PM2.5 concentrations frequently exceeded the US Standard even in non asian dust periods. The fractions of PM 10, PM2.5, and PM1 in TSP were $0.905{\pm}0.013,\;0.723{\pm}0.022,\;and\;0.572{\pm}0.029$, respectively, and fine mode particles occupied $57{\sim}72%$ of the total particle mass. The results indicate that fine particles were at the concerning level, and should be the target pollutant for the regional air quality strategy in Cheonan.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.141-149
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• 2010

Aerosol size and number concentration were observed in the atmospheric boundary layer over Beijing (from near the ground to 1,200 m) on March 15 (a clear day) and 16 (a dusty day), 2005. The results were further compared with lidar measurements in order to understand the dependency of extinction on the particle size distribution and their vertical changes. The boundary layer atmosphere was composed of several sub-layers, and a dry air layer appeared between 400 and 1,000 m under the influence of dust event. In this dry air layer, the concentration of the fine-mode particles (diameter smaller than $1.0\;{\mu}m$) was slightly lower than the value on the clear day, while the concentration of coarse-mode particles (diameter larger than $1.0\;{\mu}m$) was remarkably higher than that on the clear day. This situation was attributed to the inflow of an air mass containing large amounts of Asian dust particles and a smaller amount of fine-mode particles. The results strongly suggest that the fine-mode particles affect light extinction even in the dusty atmosphere. However, quantitatively the relation between extinction and particle concentration is not satisfied under the dusty atmospheric conditions since laser beam attenuates in the atmosphere with high concentration of particles. Laser beam attenuation effect becomes larger in the relation between extinction and coarse particle content comparing the relation between extinction and fine particle content. To clarify this problem technically, future in situ measurements such as balloon-borne lidar are suggested. Here extinction was measured at 532 nm wavelength. Measurements of extinction at other wavelengths are desired in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.60-65
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• 1986

Atmospheric particulates were collected at a site near the front gate of the Yonsei University using nine stages Andersen air sampler and the distribution of seasonal particle size was investigated. Rubber, Pb and Zn contents of the collected particulates in each stage were determined. Particle size distribution of atmospheric particulate, which was made by concentration distribution curve method, was usually divided into two groups, course (particles larger than 1 - 2 $\mu m in diameter$) and fine (particles smaller than 1 - 2 \mu m in diameter$) groups, regardless of sampling period. More than 80 percent of the total rubber contents in atmospheric particulates were larger than $5 \mu m$ in diameter, meaning that most of rubber particles were originated from tire tread. After benzene extraction for 4 hrs, the extracts were analyzed by Curie-point pyrolysis gas chromatography for rubber content. Pb and Zn contents were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The annual average concentration of rubber particles was $4.2 \mu g/m^3$, which corresponded to 2.2% of the annual average total suspended particulates. Average concentration of styrene brtadiene rubber was about five times that of natural rubber. Annual average concentrations of Pb and Zn were $1.2 \mu g/m^3 and 0.4 \mu g/m^3$ respectively, which corresponded to about 0.7% and 0.2% of the annual average total suspended particulates.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.411-427
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• 1996

A Lagrangian dispersion model has been developed to study the transport of atmospheric pollutants over the southern Korean peninsula on sunny summer days. A mesoscale atmospheric model has been employed to provide the wind fields and information for turbulent diffusion for the calculation of trajectories using a conditioned particle technique. The model has been applied to the simulation of the transport of atmospheric pollutants emitted from five sources in the coastal locations under various synoptic scale winds. Under calm synoptic scale condition, the particles emitted during daytime are mixed vertically and transported toward inland by sea-breeze, according to the model simulation. The particles are then transported upward at she sea-breeze front or by the upward motion over the mountain, and some particles show tendency of returning toward the coast by the return flow of the sea-breeze circulation. The particles are found to remain over the peninsula throughout the integration period under calm synoptic scale condition. When there is westerly synoptic scale winds the particles emitted in the west coast can reach the east coast within a day of faster depending on the speed. With a synoptic scale southerly wind of 5 m/s, most of the particles from the fine sources are advected toward inland during daytime. During nighttime, significant portion of particles released in the west coast remains over the land, while most particles released in the east coast move toward the sea to the east of the middle peninsula.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.823-832
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• 2004

Atmospheric aerosol particles collected in Seoul on four single days, each in every seasons of 2001, were characterized and classified on the basis of their chemical species using low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis (low-Z particle EPMA). Low-Z particle EPMA technique can analyze both the size and the chemical species of individual aerosol particles of micrometer size and provide detailed information on the size distribution of each chemical species. The major chemical species observed in Seoul aerosol were aluminosilicate, silicon dioxide, calcium carbonate, organic, carbon-rich, marine originated, and ammonium sulfate particles, etc. The soil originated species, such as aluminosilicate, silicon dioxide, and calcium carbonate were the most popular in the coarse fraction, meanwhile, carbonaceous and ammonium sulfate were the dominant species found in the fine fraction. Marine originated species such as sodium nitrate was frequently encountered, up to 30% of the analyzed aerosol particles.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1999

In this work, a theoretical model has been formulated which allows the study of the scavenging efficiencies of aerosol particles by the rain drops. Aerosol particles are scavenged by the simultaneous brownian diffusion, interception and inertial impaction force. In addition the calculations based on the collision efficiency model are carried out for the collision of aerosol particles with diameter range 0.01~30 $mu extrm{m}$ and rain drops with diameter 0.02$\times$$2^{n/3}$(n=1, 2, …, 17)cm. The results indicate that: (1) the below-cloud scavenging affects mainly the coarse particles (＞3 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$), the fine particles remaining almost unchanged; (2) the scavenging efficiencies by below-cloud in the heavy rain (rain intensity, 10 mm/hr) surpass the efficiency found in the drizzle rain (rain intensity, 1 mm/hr).

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.433-442
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• 1998

The removal procedure of particles in the atmosphere was simulated in the saturated and dry conditions to know the effect of the saturated atmosphere on the size distributions of particles. The particles were divided into 5 ranges, 0.0mm, 0.0∼0.65mm, 0.65∼2mm, 2∼10mm and more than 10mm, and the gases were classified into the smallest range for calculation. At the dry condition, particles grew only by the collision -coalescence and were removed by gravitation. The particles in the range of 2.0∼10mm fell mostly at the 30 km distance from the pollutant source because of gravitation. The particles larger than 10 pm were removed at the 10 km distance from the pollutant source because of their gravity. But the particles larger than 10pm appeared again at more than 30km distance. It is considered that they have been grown during the smaller particles had been advected and diffused at that distance, and it needed about 1 hour from the moment of release. At the saturated condition, particles grew by both the collision-coalescence and condensation. The model showed that the condensation makes more number of particles larger than 10mm and then the particles were removed due to their large gravity. Only a few particles existed at the range of 0.65∼10mm and larger thats 10mm. It is concluded that the saturated atmosphere is effective on removing PM-10.