Aerosol in Lithuania: Investigation of primary–secondary and regional–local contributions to particulate matter in the south-eastern Baltic region

• Project promoter: State scientific research institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology
• Project partner: Paul Scherrer Institute
• Implementation period: 01.11.2012–31.03.2016;
• Budget:.489.000 LTL

Short project description

The aim of the Project: Atmospheric aerosols have critical effects on human health and the global radiation balance. The magnitude of these effects remains largely unknown due to uncertainties in carbonaceous aerosol sources, transformations, and atmospheric lifetime. Carbonaceous aerosol includes organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), and constitutes over half of the submicron tropospheric aerosol mass. The sources and processes governing its composition and concentration are highly complex, and identification of controlling factors is therefore challenging. AEROLIT will provide long-term, comprehensive measurements of carbonaceous aerosol composition at urban, rural, and coastal sites in Lithuania. Measurements will include established online techniques with proven source apportionment and recently developed offline analytical techniques. This comprehensive dataset will be analyzed using state-of-the-art source apportionment techniques such as positive matrix factorization, chemical mass balance, and hybrid models. This will enable analysis of particulate matter in Lithuania in terms of primary emission vs. secondary formation, local vs. regional vs. trans-national sources, as well as assessment of specific sources and processes governing Lithuanian air quality.