Date of Award
5-17-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
The exposure to aerosols is one danger U.S. soldiers face in Afghanistan that may go unseen. Using the Davis Rotating-drum Universal-size-cut Monitoring (DRUM) cascade impactor, size- and time- resolved aerosol chemical concentrations from Bagram, Afghanistan were collected. These aerosol concentrations were combined with a meteorological analysis and Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model meteorological backward trajectories to establish source sectors. These sectors, along with time of year, were then used as a predictive tool for the chemical composition and relative concentration of aerosols in Afghanistan. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to determined potential source types. PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ were compared to military exposure guidelines and U.S. national ambient air quality standards. Results reveal aerosol concentrations in Afghanistan were at levels for which adverse health effects could be anticipated.
Recommended Citation
Fortun, Todd Allen, "Characterizing the Afghanistan aerosol environment using size- and time- resolved aerosol chemical composition measurements" (2012). Chemistry and Biochemistry. 84.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_chem_biochem/84
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8448