Chemical characterization and source apportionment of PM ₁₀ in Belgrade, Serbia: influence of local and regional anthropogenic and natural sources
- 1Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences (Vinča, Serbia)
- 2University of Belgrade (Belgrade, Serbia)
Abstract
Substantial efforts and improvements in air quality across Europe lowered levels of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM) in the last decades. However, significant proportion of the European population still lives in areas exceeding WHO recommendations, especially in Northern Italy, Balkans, and Eastern Europe, including Serbia. Targeted PM mitigation strategies require extensive air quality monitoring and modelling including source apportionment (SA) studies. In the past, numerous SA studies were conducted for Belgrade city, capital of Serbia. Nevertheless, comparisons across the results are difficult, as they encompass different datasets of pollutants contained in PM fractions such as elements and/or ions and/or PAHs. Here, the aim is to offer a broader insight on PM ₁₀ sources at an urban background site in Belgrade by including 34 species as input variables for SA (carbonaceous aerosols, elements, ions and specific organic tracers). For SA, the USEPA PMF 5.0 software was applied. The factor that dominated PM ₁₀ mass was biomass burning (21 %), primarily during heating season, followed by ammonium sulphate (18 %) and mineral dust (17 %). A mixed traffic and industrial activity accounted for 15 % of PM ₁₀ mass while contribution of factors from biological origin, primary biological aerosol particles and biogenic secondary organic aerosols from isoprene, was 10 % each. Mixed factor of long-range transport and road salt/local combustion contributed to the PM ₁₀ mass 9 %. This analysis provides more detailed perspective on the composition and sources of PM ₁₀ in Belgrade, both from anthropogenic and natural, including biological origin. These findings are valuable for defining targeted PM ₁₀ mitigation strategies.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{petrovic2026chemical,
title = {{Chemical characterization and source apportionment of PM ₁₀ in Belgrade, Serbia: influence of local and regional anthropogenic and natural sources}},
author = {Bojana Petrović and Andres Alastuey and Karl Espen Yttri and Marco Pandolfi and Maja Jovanović and Bojan Radović and Renata Kovačević and Danka B. Stojanović and Miloš Davidović and Stephen M. Platt and Alena Bartonova and Milena Jovašević-Stojanović},
journal = {Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/acp-26-14165-2026},
url = {https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/26/14165/2026/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Chemical characterization and source apportionment of PM ₁₀ in Belgrade, Serbia: influence of local and regional anthropogenic and natural sources
AU - Bojana Petrović
AU - Andres Alastuey
AU - Karl Espen Yttri
AU - Marco Pandolfi
AU - Maja Jovanović
AU - Bojan Radović
AU - Renata Kovačević
AU - Danka B. Stojanović
AU - Miloš Davidović
AU - Stephen M. Platt
AU - Alena Bartonova
AU - Milena Jovašević-Stojanović
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
DO - 10.5194/acp-26-14165-2026
UR - https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/26/14165/2026/
AB - Substantial efforts and improvements in air quality across Europe lowered levels of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM) in the last decades. However, significant proportion of the European population still lives in areas exceeding WHO recommendations, especially in Northern Italy, Balkans, and Eastern Europe, including Serbia. Targeted PM mitigation strategies require extensive air quality monitoring and modelling including source apportionment (SA) studies. In the past, numerous SA studies were conducted for Belgrade city, capital of Serbia. Nevertheless, comparisons across the results are difficult, as they encompass different datasets of pollutants contained in PM fractions such as elements and/or ions and/or PAHs. Here, the aim is to offer a broader insight on PM ₁₀ sources at an urban background site in Belgrade by including 34 species as input variables for SA (carbonaceous aerosols, elements, ions and specific organic tracers). For SA, the USEPA PMF 5.0 software was applied. The factor that dominated PM ₁₀ mass was biomass burning (21 %), primarily during heating season, followed by ammonium sulphate (18 %) and mineral dust (17 %). A mixed traffic and industrial activity accounted for 15 % of PM ₁₀ mass while contribution of factors from biological origin, primary biological aerosol particles and biogenic secondary organic aerosols from isoprene, was 10 % each. Mixed factor of long-range transport and road salt/local combustion contributed to the PM ₁₀ mass 9 %. This analysis provides more detailed perspective on the composition and sources of PM ₁₀ in Belgrade, both from anthropogenic and natural, including biological origin. These findings are valuable for defining targeted PM ₁₀ mitigation strategies.
SN - 1680-7324
ER -