PM10 measurements at McMurdo Station, Antarctica

PM10 aerosols at McMurdo Station, Antarctica were sampled continuously during the austral summers of 1995-1996 and 1996-1997. PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 mum) mass concentrations at Hut Point, located less than 1 km from downtown McMurdo, averaged 3.4 mug m(-3) more than an order of magnitude lower than the USEPA annual average National Ambient Air anality Standard (NAAQS) of 50 mug m(-3). Concentrations of methanesulfonate and nitrate were similar to those measured at other Antarctic coastal sites. Non-sea-salt sulfate (NSS) concentrations on Ross Island were higher than those found at other coastal locations. The average elemental carbon concentration (129 ng m(-3)) downwind of the station was two orders of magnitude higher than those measured at remote coastal and inland Antarctic sites during summer. Average sulfur dioxide concentrations (746 ng m(-3)) were 3-44 times higher than those reported for coastal Antarctica. Concentrations of Ph and Zn were 17 and 46 times higher than those reported for the South Pole. A methanesulfonate to biogenic sulfate ratio (R) of 0.47 was derived that is consistent with the proposed temperature dependence of R. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.