To identify the seasonal variation of dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in PM10 from Mt. Huangshan. PM10samples were collected during the summer and winter of 2015, which were then analyzed for dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, and α-dicarbonyls. The results showed that oxalic acid(HOOC-COOH, C2) was the dominant species in the summer and winter months, followed by malonic acid(HOOC-CH2-COOH, C3), and succinic acid[HOOC-(CH2)2-COOH, C4], being consistent with that in other high-altitude regions. Most of the diacids were more abundant in the summer months than in the winter months, while adipic acid(C6) and phahalic acid(Ph) were twice lower in the summer months, suggesting significant impact of anthropogenic pollution on the wintertime alpine atmosphere. Moreover, as major precursors of C2, glyoxal(Gly) and methylglyoxal(mGly) were also lower in the summer months than in the winter months, which were opposite to those of the diacids, indicating that the mountain troposphere was more oxidative in the summer months than in the winter months. Principal component analysis(PCA) further revealed that the wintertime SOA in the Mt. Huangshan troposphere mostly originated from the anthropogenic pollutants from long-distance transport. Conversely, the summertime SOA mostly originated from the further oxidation of the mountainous biogenic sources. The AIM(Aerosol Inorganic Model) calculation results showed that the aqueous-phase C2 production was the primary mechanism of C2 formation in ambient aerosol and was driven by acid-catalyzed oxidation in summer.
Keywords: Mt. Huangshan; PM10; dicarboxylic acids; oxalic acid; seasonal variation.