Study of elemental mass size distributions of aerosol in Lijiang, a background site in Southwest China

Elemental mass size distributions of atmospheric aerosols over Mount Yulongxue, Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China were monitored by an 8-stage cascade sampler and analyzed using PIXE method. The results show that crustal elements such as Mg, Al, Ca, Si, K, and Fe are the main compositions of atmospheric aerosols over the Mount Yulongxue Region and account for more than 82% of a total of 20 elements determined. The concentration of soil dust in Lijiang is very low with a value of 3.22 μg/m³. Concentration of Pb, Se, and Br in atmospheric aerosol in Lijiang is much higher than that over Mount Qomolangma Region. High enrichment factors of S, As, Se, Br, and Pb in atmospheric aerosol in Lijiang were observed. These results indicate that the impact of human activity in Lijiang can't be ignored.