Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
A.P.E Research, BioNanoLab, Area Science Park, Basovizza ss. 14, Km 163.5, 34149, Trieste, Italy.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2014 Feb;21(3):1915-1923. doi: 10.1007/s11356-013-2080-4. Epub 2013 Sep 5.
For the first time, continuous aerosol measurements were performed in the Škocjan Caves, one of the most important cave systems in the world, and listed by UNESCO as a natural and cultural world heritage site since 1986. Measurements of PM10 were performed during three different periods: (1) in December 2011, the average background concentration was found to be about 4 μg m(-3); (2) in June 2012, a higher concentration was measured (8 μg m(-3)); and (3) from 8 to 20 August 2012, the highest concentration of 15.3 μg m(-3) was measured. Based on the PM10 measurement results, and as compared to similar measurements outside the cave, it can be hypothesized that the increase in the cave's aerosol concentration during the summer was connected to both the higher number of visitors and the polluted atmospheric air entering the cave upon entering of the cave system. Additional measurement of nanoparticles with scanning mobility particle sizer spectrometer (size between 14.1 and 710.5 nm) confirmed these findings; during the summer period, a severe raise in the total aerosol concentration of 30-50 times was found when groups of visitors entered the cave. Our results on nanoparticles demonstrated that we were able to detect very small changes and variations in aerosol concentration inside the cave. To our knowledge, these are the first results on nanoaerosol measurements in a cave, and we believe that such measurements may lead to the implementation of better protection of delicate cave systems.
首次在斯考契扬溶洞（Škocjan Caves）进行了气溶胶连续测量，该溶洞是世界上最重要的溶洞系统之一，自 1986 年起被联合国教科文组织列为自然和文化世界遗产。PM10 的测量在三个不同时期进行：(1) 2011 年 12 月，平均背景浓度约为 4μg m(-3)；(2) 2012 年 6 月，测量到更高的浓度（8μg m(-3)）；(3) 2012 年 8 月 8 日至 20 日，测量到最高浓度为 15.3μg m(-3)。根据 PM10 的测量结果，与洞穴外类似的测量结果相比，可以假设洞穴中气溶胶浓度在夏季的增加与游客人数的增加以及洞穴系统进入时污染的大气空气进入洞穴有关。使用扫描迁移率颗粒粒径谱仪（尺寸在 14.1 到 710.5nm 之间）对纳米颗粒进行的额外测量证实了这些发现；在夏季，当游客进入洞穴时，总气溶胶浓度会严重增加 30-50 倍。我们对纳米颗粒的研究结果表明，我们能够检测到洞穴内气溶胶浓度的非常微小的变化和波动。据我们所知，这些是洞穴中纳米气溶胶测量的首批结果，我们相信这种测量可能会导致对脆弱洞穴系统实施更好的保护。
