Black Carbon Pollution Level at a Roadside of Seoul in Spring

To understand particle pollution phenomena caused by vehicles, black carbon (BC) concentrations were continuously monitored using an aethalometer at a roadside in Seoul during the period of May 79 to 25, 2005. The BC concentration was highly fluctuated for a short duration, responding to the traffic situation on the road. The lowest BC concentration was observed between 2 and 5 a.m. The local highest BC concentrations were observed during the periods of both morning and evening rush hours. Change in traffic volume accounts for the trend of hourly averaged BC concentrations from the late evening to the morning. Particularly, the slower increase of BC concentration on Sunday seems to respond directly the lower traffic volume in the morning rush hours. From the comparison with a previous work, it is concluded that the BC concentration around midday hours might be dependent on the distance from a road.