Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Visibility Impairment by Airborne Pollen

공중화분에 의한 시정장애 현상의 물리적 및 화학적 특성 규명

Intensive visibility monitoring was conducted to investigate physical and chemical characteristics of visibility impairment by airborne pollen. Light attenuation coefficients were optically measured by a transmissometer, a nephelometer, and an aethalometer. Elemental, ionic, and carbonaceous species were chemically analyzed on the filters collected by $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ samplers. Aerosol size distribution was analyzed using a cascade impactor during airborne pollen period. Airborne pollen count was calculated using a scanning electron microscope. Airborne pollen was emitted into the atmosphere in springtime and funker degraded visibility through its scattering and absorbing the light. Average light extinction coefficient was measured to be $211{\pm}36Mm^{-1}$ when airborne pollen was not observed. But it increased to $459{\pm}267Mm^{-1}$ during the airborne pollen period due to increase of average $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ mass concentration and relative humidity and airborne pollen count concentration for $PM_{10}$, which were measured to be $46.5{\pm}29.1{\mu}g\;m^{-3},\;97.0{\pm}41.7{\mu}g\;m^{-3},\;54.1{\pm}11.6%$, and $68.2{\pm}89.7m^{-3}$, respectively. Average light extinction efficiencies for $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ were calculated to be $5.9{\pm}0.9$ and $4.5{\pm}0.8m^2 g^{-1}$ during the airborne pollen period. Light extinction efficiency for $PM_{10}$ increased further than that for $PM_{2.5}$. The average light extinction budget by airborne pollen was estimated to be about 24% out of the average measured light extinction coefficient during the airborne pollen period.