Chloride aerosols in central northern England

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Abstract

Concentrations of chloride aerosols in the atmosphere have been measured on a daily basis using dichotomous samplers at one urban and one rural site near Leeds, West Yorkshire. For two periods during the 18 month sampling programme major marine cations (Na+, Mg2+) in the aqueous extracts of the filters were analyzed in addition to the other common ions (Cl, NO3, SO42−, NH4+). The contributions of marine aerosol to the coarse and fine mass fractions were 10–20% and 2–3%, respectively even though the sites were some 100 km from the sea. The displacement of Cl from marine aerosols was clearly demonstrated. Road salt can dominate the coarse mode in winter under certain meteorological conditions. Fine chloride, essentially NH4Cl aerosol derived from combustion-generated HCl and atmospheric ammonia, shows a marked seasonal dependence attributed to the thermodynamics of the NH3 + HCl = NH3Cl equilibrium and the relative concentrations of atmospheric NH3 and HCl. Of the total Cl aerosol measured at Leeds, about 23 was of marine origin.

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    Present address: Environmental Technology Centre, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, U.K.

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