Biomass burning markers and residential burning in the WINTER Aircraft Campaign

Two-minute integrated liquid samples containing dissolved fine particulate matter (PM1) species were collected and analyzed off-line for the smoke marker levoglucosan using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography-pulsed amperometric detection to compare levoglucosan with aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) biomass burning markers and investigate the contribution from residential burning during the study.

Levoglucosan was correlated with AMS organic aerosol (R-2=0.49) and with carbon monoxide (CO; R-2=0.51) for all flights. Levoglucosan was not correlated with the inorganic smoke marker water-soluble potassium but was correlated with the AMS markers C2H4O2+ (high resolution, R-2=0.60) and m/z 60 (unit mass resolution, R-2=0.61). However, at low levoglucosan, AMS markers deviated potentially due to interferences from other sources or differences with the species captured by the AMS markers.