Mode and place of origin of carbonaceous aerosols transported from east Asia to cape Hedo, Okinawa, Japan

This study investigated the source categories and emission areas of carbonaceous aerosols transported from East Asia to the East China Sea. Mass concentrations of heavy metals, ionic components, organic carbon, and elemental carbon (EC) were measured at the Cape Hedo Atmosphere and Aerosol Monitoring Station in Okinawa, Japan, throughout 2010. The relative influences of different categories of aerosols were determined by positive matrix factorization, and the source regions of each emissions category were evaluated by using the total potential source contribution function. Five source categories were identified: dust, sea salt and nitrate, secondary species, coal combustion, and oil combustion. The results showed that the major source of aerosols in North China is coal combustion, whereas the major source in South China, Japan, and Korea is oil combustion. The relative contributions of the five sources to EC concentrations at Cape Hedo were dust 7.0%, sea salt and nitrate 19.1%, secondary species 28.5%, oil combustion 12.8%, and coal combustion 32.6%. In particular, wintertime coal combustion in residential areas of North China contributed significantly to EC in 2010. The results also indicate that the contribution of coal combustion in source areas was higher in winter (52%), whereas the contribution of oil combustion was higher in spring (33%).