The organic composition of air particulate matter from rural and urban Portuguese areas

Atmospheric particulate matter was simultaneously collected at three sites during an intensive campaign in August 1996. Two of the sampling sites were located in rural areas near or within forests. The third site was the University campus on the outskirts of the town of Aveiro. The collected aerosol was analysed in relation to black and organic carbon content. The particulate organic matter was extracted with solvents and characterised by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Most of the organic mass identified consists of alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), ketones, aldehydes, alcohols and fatty acids both having a biogenic and anthropogenic origin. Photochemical products deriving from volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted by vegetation represent an important fraction of the organic aerosol content. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.