Temporal trends of phosphorus in urban atmospheric aerosols

Abstract

Air particulate samples collected from a Canadian urban area station showed the seasonal trend of the phosphorus with peak levels observed for April–June periods and levels not significantly changed between 2007 and 2015. The phosphorus measured as total phosphorus (TP) in digested aqueous extracts showed an exponential increase with daily temperature (R2 = 0.544, N = 474), with the best correlation observed for the 2010 subset (R2 = 0.727, N = 55). The temperature correlation was not observed with the total suspended particles (TSP). Longer dry periods during spring to summer months favored a higher P level on aerosols. The temperature and precipitation pattern dependence indicate a possible climate change influence on the aerosol P levels. The unchanged yearly aerosol TP content does not directly reflect the dropping trend observed in surface water after 1990s from the same area during spring to summer period.