Interpretation of organic components from Positive Matrix Factorization of aerosol mass spectrometric data

Abstract. The organic aerosol (OA) dataset from an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Q-AMS) collected at the Pittsburgh Air Quality Study (PAQS) in September 2002 was analyzed with Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). Three components – hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol OA (HOA), a highly-oxygenated OA (OOA-1) that correlates well with sulfate, and a less-oxygenated, semi-volatile OA (OOA-2) that correlates well with nitrate and chloride – are identified and interpreted as primary combustion emissions, aged SOA, and semivolatile, less aged SOA, respectively. The complexity of interpreting the PMF solutions of unit mass resolution (UMR) AMS data is illustrated by a detailed analysis of the solutions as a…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Award: 0449815
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: DE-FG02-, FG02-08ER64627, DE-FG02
• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Awards: NNG05GQ50H, NNG04GA67G
• NO
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration