Temporal variation of suspended particles (TSP, PM10, and PM2.5) and chemical composition of PM10 in a site at the coast of the Gulf of Mexico

A study of temporal variations of particulate matter in different size fractions (TSP, PM10, PM2.5) was undertaken in the city of San Francisco de Campeche (SFC), in southeast Mexico, in the years 2014 and 2015 in order to assess the contribution of the chemical components. The samples were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and ion exchange chromatography (IC) for PM10. XRF identified the presence of Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn. The results of a cluster analysis (CA) indicates a strong correlation of S and P in the three fractions due to agricultural land use and this may be related to the burning of biomass during the dry season. Also the CA also suggests that the elements Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, and Fe can be associated with a geological origin. The results of the IC analysis show high levels of Na+, Cl−, and SO4−2 and the latter must be related to anthropogenic sources. The application of principal components analysis (PCA) suggests that Na+, Cl− and Mg+2 are associated with marine aerosols; NO3− and SO4−2 are from emissions related to fuel combustion due to increase in the number of motor vehicles in the city.