Natural Silicon Isotopic Signatures Reveal the Sources of Airborne Fine Particulate Matter

Airborne particulate pollution is a critical environmental problem affecting human health and sustainable development. Understanding of the sources of aerosol particles is of extreme importance for regional air pollution control. Here we show that natural Si isotopic signature can be used as a new tool to elucidate the sources of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). Through the analysis of Si isotopic composition (δ³⁰Si) of PM_2.5 and its primary sources collected in a typical pollution region - Beijing, we recognized the direct source tracing ability of Si isotopes for PM_2.5. The different primary sources of PM_2.5 had different Si isotopic signatures. The δ³⁰Si value of PM_2.5 ranged from -1.99‰ to -0.01‰ and showed a distinct seasonal trend (isotopically lighter in spring/winter and heavier in summer/autumn). The variations in δ³⁰Si of PM_2.5 revealed that Si-isotopically light sources were important sources for Beijing's severe haze pollution and that coal burning was a major cause for the aggregating haze weather in spring/winter in Beijing. We also analyzed several typical haze events by using Si isotopic signatures. As the first study on the natural Si isotopes in the atmospheric environment, this study may reveal an important tool to advance the particulate pollution research and control.