PIXE AND RECEPTOR MODEL APPLIED TO ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL SOURCE APPORTIONMENT

Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected using an 8-stage cascade impactor or an automatic time sequence step sampler at Mount Qomolangma and Beijing. Element concentrations were analyzed by particle induced x-ray emission (PIXE) technique. Then the data were analyzed by the absolute principal factor analysis (APFA) to evaluate the principal components and the percent variance explained by them. As a result, it shows that the PIXE analysis combing with statistical method can effectively resolve the aerosol components in urban area and distinguish between local and remote area aerosol components in the area far from the pollution sources.