Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia; Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: talib@ukm.my
  • 3 Centre for Tropical Climate Change System, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia
  • 5 Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Mar Pollut Bull, 2016 Aug 15;109(1):480-489.
PMID: 27230987 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.05.017

Abstract

This study determined the effect of monsoonal changes on the composition of atmospheric surfactants in coastal areas. The composition of anions (SO4(2-), NO3(-), Cl(-), F(-)) and the major elements (Ca, K, Mg, Na) in aerosols were used to determine the possible sources of surfactants. Surfactant compositions were determined using a colorimetric method as methylene blue active substances (MBAS) and disulphine blue active substances (DBAS). The anion and major element compositions of the aerosol samples were determined by ion chromatography (IC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. The results indicated that the concentrations of surfactant in aerosols were dominated by MBAS (34-326pmolm(-3)). Monsoonal changes were found to significantly affect the concentration of surfactants. Using principal component analysis-multiple linear regressions (PCA-MLR), major possible sources for surfactants in the aerosols were motor vehicle emissions, secondary aerosol and the combustion of biomass along with marine aerosol.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.