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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Characteristics of Secondary Organic Aerosol
Tracers in PM2.5 during O3 and Haze Pollution
Days in A Relatively Clean City, Tai’an
1
School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan 250101, China
Submission date: 2026-01-27
Final revision date: 2026-04-02
Acceptance date: 2026-04-21
Online publication date: 2026-08-03
Corresponding author
Chao Zhu
School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan 250101, China
School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan 250101, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) contributes greatly to atmospheric environmental pollution,
and SOA tracers provide direct insights into the chemical composition, source identification,
and formation pathways of SOA. Observations of SOA tracers were performed in Tai’an, a relatively
clean city located in the North China Plain. Seventeen SOA tracers in PM2.5, which originated from
isoprene (SOAI), monoterpene (SOAM), β-caryophyllene (SOAC), and aromatic hydrocarbon (SOAA),
were measured and investigated. Characteristics of SOA tracers in different seasons and during
different pollution days were revealed. The concentrations of these four kinds of tracers in summer were
28.5±7.49 ng m-3, 41.4±11.2 ng m-3, 1.94±0.72 ng m-3, and 1.26±0.51 ng m-3, respectively, indicating strong
oxidation processes under high biogenic emissions. In winter, SOAI and SOAM decreased significantly
by more than 65%, but the SOAA concentration increased by a factor of 2.65. These opposing trends
collectively resulted in the same secondary organic carbon concentration (0.60 μg m-3) in summer and
winter. Compared with non-pollution days, SOA was found to be fresher during O3 pollution days in
summer and haze days in winter, but the underlying mechanisms were different. Through the combined
analysis of malic acid, levoglucosan, and SO42‒, the importance of biomass burning and secondary
inorganic formation to SOA was revealed. This study provides insights into SOA characteristics
in a mountain city under relatively clean conditions.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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