TY - JOUR
T1 - Spider web biomonitoring
T2 - A cost-effective source apportionment approach for urban particulate matter
AU - van Laaten, Neele
AU - von Tümpling, Wolf
AU - Merten, Dirk
AU - Bro, Rasmus
AU - Schäfer, Thorsten
AU - Pirrung, Michael
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the International Max Planck Research School for Global Biogeochemical Cycles (IMPRS-gBGC), the latter of which provided a PhD student scholarship for the first author. Neither of these institutions had an influence on the study design, its implementation or this manuscript. Further, we would like to thank Anna Bonrath, Lena Herrschuh, Klara Perchermeier, Rebekka Sinz and Franz Sperhake who helped with the sampling as well as Ulrike Buhler and Ines Kamp who performed numerous digestions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) in urban atmospheres are one of the major environmental challenges of the Anthropocene. To effectively lower those levels, identification and quantification of sources of PM is required. Biomonitoring methods are helpful tools to tackle this problem but have not been fully established yet. An example is the sampling and subsequent analysis of spider webs to whose adhesive surface dust particles can attach. For a methodical inspection, webs of orb-weaving spiders were sampled repeatedly from 2016 to 2018 at 22 locations in the city of Jena, Germany. Contents of Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sb, Si, Sn, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn and Zr were determined in the samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) after aqua regia digestion. Multivariate statistical methods were applied for a detailed evaluation. A combination of cluster analysis and principal component analysis allows for the clear identification of three main sources in the study area: brake wear from car traffic, abrasion of tram/train tracks and particles of geogenic origin. Quantitative source contributions reveal that high amounts of most of the metals are derived from a combination of brake wear and geogenic particles, the latter of which are likely resuspended by moving vehicles. This emphasizes the importance of non-exhaust particles connected to road traffic. Once a source identification has been performed for an area of interest, classification models can be applied to assess air quality for further samples from within the whole study area, offering a tool for air quality assessment. The general validity of this approach is demonstrated using samples from other locations.
AB - Elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) in urban atmospheres are one of the major environmental challenges of the Anthropocene. To effectively lower those levels, identification and quantification of sources of PM is required. Biomonitoring methods are helpful tools to tackle this problem but have not been fully established yet. An example is the sampling and subsequent analysis of spider webs to whose adhesive surface dust particles can attach. For a methodical inspection, webs of orb-weaving spiders were sampled repeatedly from 2016 to 2018 at 22 locations in the city of Jena, Germany. Contents of Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sb, Si, Sn, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn and Zr were determined in the samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) after aqua regia digestion. Multivariate statistical methods were applied for a detailed evaluation. A combination of cluster analysis and principal component analysis allows for the clear identification of three main sources in the study area: brake wear from car traffic, abrasion of tram/train tracks and particles of geogenic origin. Quantitative source contributions reveal that high amounts of most of the metals are derived from a combination of brake wear and geogenic particles, the latter of which are likely resuspended by moving vehicles. This emphasizes the importance of non-exhaust particles connected to road traffic. Once a source identification has been performed for an area of interest, classification models can be applied to assess air quality for further samples from within the whole study area, offering a tool for air quality assessment. The general validity of this approach is demonstrated using samples from other locations.
KW - Biomonitoring
KW - Source apportionment
KW - Spider webs
KW - Trace elements
KW - Urban particulate matter
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117328
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117328
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33990052
AN - SCOPUS:85105604860
VL - 286
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
SN - 0269-7491
M1 - 117328
ER -