Laser ablation studies of solid aerosols on the Baltic coast

A Berner cascade impactor was used for the separation of solid urban aerosols in two localities of the Baltic coastal macro-region – Słupsk and Hel – in different seasons and weathers. Ten ranges of aerodynamic diameters between 0.009 and 8.11 μm were used. The elementary composition for each diameter was obtained in a complex procedure consisting of laser ablation of deposits, then their successive ionization in an inductively coupled plasma generator, and finally, mass selection in a quadrupole spectrometer. Despite its complexity, the chemical element analysis method proved to be versatile, allowing the identification air pollution from natural and industrial sources, and road traffic.