Determination of atmospheric organic and elemental carbon particle in Rome with a thermal method

A thermal method is described to separate and determine the elemental carbon which has essentially primary origin, and the organic carbon which has both primary and secondary origin, in the atmospheric particulate of Rome during the period May 1999-February 2000. The temporal trends of particulate matter, total carbon, elemental carbon and organic carbon have been interpreted using the measurements of the concentrations of natural radioactivity as tracer of the dynamic properties of the atmospheric boundary layer. The good correlation between organic carbon and elemental carbon have confirmed that the traffic is the most intensive emission source in the urban area of Rome.