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Anthropogenic inputs of boron into urban atmosphere: Evidence from boron isotopes of precipitations in Guiyang City, China TEXT SIZE: A A A

Boron (B) concentrations and isotopic compositions were measured in the precipitations of Guiyang, China for one year.  Most precipitation samples have boron concentrations of from 2.1 to 4.8 ng ml−1, and δ11B values of from +2.0‰ to +30.0‰.  Boron concentrations and δ11B values of heavy rain samples are generally higher than those of light rain and snow samples.  Anthropogenic inputs provided most of the SO42− and NO3, which were predominant ions in the precipitation.  The major cation Ca2+ in the precipitation was mainly originated from local dust.

The total boron in precipitation from Guiyang is explained by the mixing model of three boron sources.  Assuming a δ11B value of +45‰ for the seawater component, contributions of marine source, organic matter and biomass combustion, and coal combustion were estimated to be 32%, 49%, and 19%, respectively to the total boron in Guiyang precipitations.  The coal combustion and biomass (and/or organic matter) combustion showed different contributions of boron to the rainwaters in different seasons, the former in cold season while the latter in summer season had a more marked influence on the chemical and isotopic composition of the rainwater.  The largest contribution of seawater-originated boron was observed for the heavy rain samples, which was up to 68%.

This study indicates that the atmospheric environment of Guiyang city was strongly influenced by human activities, and boron isotopic composition is of great sensitivity to anthropogenic sources and can be a powerful technique to trace various sources of atmospheric emissions and even their origins.

 Publication name

Atmospheric Environment, Volume 44, Issue 34, November 2010, Pages 4165-4171

 Author(s)

Zhao, Zhi-Qi; Liu, Cong-Qiang

 Corresponding author   LIU Congqiang
liucongqiang@vip.skleg.cn Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, State Key Lab Environm Geochem, Guanshui Rd 46, Guiyang 550002, Peoples R China

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