PW04 Global Atmospheric Transport
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Wednesday
(PW035) A global look at the influence of local population on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations.
Hafner, W.1, Carlson, D.1, Hites, R.1, 1 School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bloomington, IN, U.S.
ABSTRACT- Literature values of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations from sampling sites around the world were found, and using a high resolution population grid, the population within a 25 km radius of each PAH sampling site was calculated. A simple linear regression of concentration vs. population revealed much about PAH concentration differences between continents as well as site location within a continent. The best fit for the regression was for sampling locations in the United States and Canada. More scatter exists in the Western Europe regression, implying that different countries have different emissions. A plot for all industrialized countries was used as a benchmark for expected PAH concentrations for given populations. Sites located within 25 km of coastal areas tend to have lower concentrations than the local population would predict. Sites located near point sources (i.e. smelters, high traffic, local burning) have PAH concentrations higher than expected. Sites from China and Eastern Europe have concentrations equivalent to North American and Western European industrial sites, suggesting that a separate regression is needed for non-industrialized countries. Taken all together these data suggest that although concentrations are spatially variable, local sources are the primary contributors to atmospheric PAH rather than long range atmospheric transport.
Key words: population, PAH, regression, global