Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Water-Soluble Organic Components In Aerosols Associated With Savanna Fires In Southern Africa: Identification, Evolution, And Distribution, Song Gao, Dean A. Hegg, Peter V. Hobbs, Thomas W. Kirchstetter, Brian I. Magi, Martin Sadilek

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

During the SAFARI 2000 field campaign, both smoke aerosols from savanna fires and haze aerosols in the boundary layer and in the free troposphere were collected from an aircraft in southern Africa. These aerosol samples were analyzed for their water-soluble chemical components, particularly the organic species. A novel technique, electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry, was used concurrently with an ion chromatography system to analyze for carbohydrate species. Seven carbohydrates, seven organic acids, five metallic elements, and three inorganic anions were identified and quantified. On the average, these 22 species comprised 36% and 27% of the total aerosol mass in haze …