Secondary organic aerosol tracers and related polar organic compounds between urban and rural areas in the Eastern Mediterranean region: source apportionment and the influence of atmospheric oxidants.

Fine particle samples were collected during summer at an urban (LIM) and a rural/background (AGM) site of Cyprus. They were analyzed for pinene and isoprene secondary organic aerosol (PSOA-ISOA) tracers, linear dicarboxylic acids (DCAs), hydroxyacids (HAs), aromatic acids (AAs), monocarboxylic acids (MCAs) and levoglucosan by GC/MS with prior 3-step derivatization. DCAs, AAs, MCAs and levoglucosan exhibited significantly higher concentrations (p < 0.