During the PhD studies, the focus will be on the determination of the origin of the organic aerosol particles and their quantitative expression, considering the impact of different types of anthropogenic and biogenic sources (primary and secondary) on the formation of aerosol particles. This analysis will be based on such measurements as the aerosol particle size distribution, chemical composition, including mass spectra and molecular markers of known compounds, as well as physical and optical properties (especially for BC source apportionment). A Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) will be used on aerosol mass spectra, as well as on other datasets for the source apportionment efforts. The main advantage of this method - the possibility to obtain information about the atmospheric and/or indoor air aerosol chemical composition and sources without any a priori information. Comparative studies will enable to assess the impact of atmospheric air pollution on indoor air quality.
The state-of-the-art equipment (ACSM, SMPS TSI3936, CPC TSI3068, Aethalometer, etc.) available at the Department of Environmental Research and the new methodologies for data analysis and interpretation (such as PMF) provide an opportunity to identify possible sources of air pollution and to assess the quality of atmospheric and/or indoor air. All this ensures the preconditions for successful completion of PhD studies, to achieve the set goals and objectives, and to defend the PhD thesis.