Particle analysis on urban green: a record of urban particulate matter pollution
As an alternative to airborne samples collected via high-volume samplers or impactors, urban green is herein used as a recorder of atmospheric particle pollution. Plant leaves and bark wood samples are examples of biological accumulation matrices of atmospheric particles, therefore studied for biomonitoring/source characterization purposes. These biological substrates are also investigated in terms of their micro-surface characteristics, such as roughness, hairiness, and presence of stomata. Species-dependency and spatiotemporal variations are also targets of our study.
Scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) allows the high-resolution examination of nano- to micrometer particles; determination of their size and shape, and estimation of their chemical content are the main outcomes of this particle-based analysis.