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Temporal variability of MODIS aerosol optical depth and chemical characterization of airborne particulates in Varanasi, India

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Abstract

Temporal variation of airborne particulate mass concentration was measured in terms of toxic organics, metals and water-soluble ionic components to identify compositional variation of particulates in Varanasi. Information-related fine particulate mass loading and its compositional variation in middle Indo-Gangetic plain were unique and pioneering as no such scientific literature was available. One-year ground monitoring data was further compared to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Level 3 retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) to identify trends in seasonal variation. Observed AOD exhibits spatiotemporal heterogeneity during the entire monitoring period reflecting monsoonal low and summer and winter high. Ground-level particulate mass loading was measured, and annual mean concentration of PM2.5 (100.0 ± 29.6 μg/m3) and PM10 (176.1 ± 85.0 μg/m3) was found to exceed the annual permissible limit (PM10: 80 %; PM2.5: 84 %) and pose a risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Average PM2.5/PM10 ratio of 0.59 ± 0.18 also indicates contribution of finer particulates to major variability of PM10. Particulate sample was further processed for trace metals, viz. Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, Mn, Ni, Cr, Na, K and Cd. Metals originated mostly from soil/earth crust, road dust and re-suspended dust, viz. Ca, Fe, Na and Mg were found to constitute major fractions of particulates (PM2.5: 4.6 %; PM10: 9.7 %). Water-soluble ionic constituents accounted for approximately 27 % (PM10: 26.9 %; PM2.5: 27.5 %) of the particulate mass loading, while sulphate (8.0–9.5 %) was found as most dominant species followed by ammonium (6.0–8.2 %) and nitrate (5.5–7.0 %). The concentration of toxic organics representing both aliphatic and aromatic organics was determined by organic solvent extraction process. Annual mean toxic organic concentration was found to be 27.5 ± 12.3 μg/m3 (n = 104) which constitutes significant proportion of (PM2.5, 17–19 %; PM10, 11–20 %) particulate mass loading with certain exceptions up to 50 %. Conclusively, compositional variation of both PM2.5 and PM10 was compared to understand association of specific sources with different fractions of particulates.

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Acknowledgments

Present research work is financially supported by University Grants Commission, New Delhi (F. No. 41-1111/2012, SR). The MODIS data were acquired from GES-DISC Interactive Online Visualization and Infrastructure (Giovanni) as part of NASA’s Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC). Authors also acknowledge Director, IESD-BHU; TK Mandal and SK Sharma, National Physical Laboratory-New Delhi for their valuable guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Vishnu Murari, Manish Kumar & T. Banerjee

  2. Environmental Monitoring Division, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, India

    S. C. Barman

Authors
  1. Vishnu Murari
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  2. Manish Kumar
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  3. S. C. Barman
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  4. T. Banerjee
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Correspondence to T. Banerjee.

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Responsible editor: Constantini Samara

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Murari, V., Kumar, M., Barman, S.C. et al. Temporal variability of MODIS aerosol optical depth and chemical characterization of airborne particulates in Varanasi, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 1329–1343 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3418-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3418-2

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