Elemental Spatiotemporal Variations of Total Suspended Particles in Jeddah City

Abstract

Elements associated with total suspended particulate matter (TSP) in Jeddah city were determined. Using high-volume samplers, TSP samples were simultaneously collected over a one-year period from seven sampling sites. Samples were analyzed for Al, Ba, Ca, Cu, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, As, and Sr. Results revealed great dependence of element contents on spatial and temporal variations. Two sites characterized by busy roads, workshops, heavy population, and heavy trucking have high levels of all measured elements. Concentrations of most elements at the two sites exhibit strong spatial gradients and concentrations of elements at these sites are higher than other locations. The highest concentrations of elements were observed during June–August because of dust storms, significant increase in energy consumption, and active surface winds. Enrichment factors of elements at the high-level sites have values in the range >10~60 while for Cu and Zn the enrichment factors are much higher (~0–>700) indicating that greater percentage of TSP composition for these three elements in air comes from anthropogenic activities.