Estimation of contemporary carbon in fine-particle aerosols from the 1987 SCAQS (Southern California Air Quality Study) program. Final report

Technical Report · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5548839

During the Southern California Air Quality Study of 1987, the aerosol content of biogenic carbon was investigated. Twenty-four-hour fine-particle aerosol samples were collected at four sites, and the carbon in the samples was analyzed for content of the radioactive isotope {sup 14}C (which decays with a half-life of 5730 years and is not present in fossil fuels). The percentage of modern carbon varied in 36 samples between 17.3 and 97.6%. These high contents of modern carbon indicate the possibility that 20% of the fine-particle atmospheric aerosol (as organic matter and elemental carbon) in the southern California urban area is due to non-fossil fuel emissions.

• Research Organization: Global Geochemistry Corp., Canoga Park, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5548839
• Report Number(s): PB-89-208649/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
AIR QUALITY
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CALIFORNIA
CARBON 14
CARBON ISOTOPES
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FEDERAL REGION IX
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LOS ANGELES
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
ORGANIC MATTER
PARTICLES
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIOISOTOPES
SOLS
URBAN AREAS
USA
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES