Comparison of Ground-Based Particulate Matter Observations in the Seodaemun-gu District, Seoul

We performed the comparison of observed PM10 and PM2.5 at both the Yonsei University and the AIRKOREA site in the same Seodaemun-gu district, Seoul from March to December 2016. Generally, the moderate correlations between two sites were found for both PM10 and PM2.5, but monthly difference was somewhat occurred, implying that the measurement situation is not equally maintained even in a closely located area. Particularly correlations became weaker in June and July, which seems the impact of rainy conditions. Correlations between two stations were higher for PM10 compared to PM2.5, probably indicating the spatially larger difference of fine mode particle. Monthly mean variation was similar between two sites showing a maximum in March and minimum in August. Diurnal variation was somewhat different: morning peak at Yonsei University but evening peak at the Seodaemun-gu AIRKOREA site, reflecting the difference of local air condition. We also compared the extent of PM10 and PM2.5 according to the local wind speed and direction. In general, the level of particulate matter was high when the wind is blowing from the northwestern area with low wind speed, meaning the high accumulation effect of transported air particles. Findings of this study can be usefully considered for the investigation about the discrepancy of aerosol measurement in a local scale.