Characteristics of Gas- and Particle-phase Acids and $NH_3$ at Urban and Rural Sites in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

To study the characteristics of ammonia and the related compounds, atmospheric aerosols and gases were collected using a triple filter pack sampler, a low volume air sampler, and a three-stage Anderson air sampler in Seoul and Kangwha Island, Korea from Dec. 1996 to Oct. 1997. Ammonia concentrations showed approximately two times higher in summer than in winter at both sites. The highest $HNO_3$ levels were generally observed in summertime at two sampling sites. The average mass concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ in heavily industrialized Seoul was about three times higher than that of Kangwha. In winter, the sum of $NH_4^+$ and its counter ions (such as $Cl^-,\;NO_3^-$, and $SO_4^{2-}$) comprised $30-41\%$ of $PM_{2.5}$ mass concentration at each sampling site. Temperature dependence of particulate nitrate was examined at the urban sampling site. The formation of the nitrate in the fine mode was dependent not only on the amount of precursors but also on the variation of temperature. $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ and $NH_4HSO_4$ coexisted with $NH_4NO_3$ and $NH_4Cl$ at each site. According to the summertime backward trajectory analysis, $NO_3^-$ showed higher level with air parcels transported from northeast Asian continent. On the other hand, the concentration of $SO_4^{2-}$ showed significantly higher level when air masses originated from Pacific Ocean, southern part of Japan, and Korea.