The Study of Characteristic Environmental Sites Affected by Diverse Sources of Mineral Matter Using Compositional Data Analysis

Compositional data analysis was applied on mineral element concentrations (i.e., Al, Ti, Si, Ca, Mg, Fe, Sr) content in PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 simultaneous measurements at three characteristic environmental sites: kerbside, background and rural site. Different possible sources of mineral trace elements affecting the PM in the considered sites were highlighted. Particularly, results show that compositional data analysis allows for the assessment of chemical/physical differences between mineral element concentrations of PM. These differences can be associated with both different kinds of involved mineral sources and different mechanisms of accumulation/dispersion of PM at the considered sites.