Multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis of particulate matter and atmospheric variables at different time scales

Anthropogenic and natural aerosol emissions poses a threat to human and animal health. Particulate matter has a complex relationship with atmospheric parameters. In this study, the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis was used to investigate complexity in particulate matter and atmospheric parameters at five small time steps (6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 min) at a tropical location. The study was carried out at annual and monthly scale. Multifractal strengths in the range 0.21 - 0.32, 0.16 - 0.28, 0.15 - 0.26, 0.40 - 0.68, 0.41 - 0.71, and 0.12 - 0.23 were obtained for PM1, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, humidity, and pressure respectively at the annual scale. At all time steps, multifractality of particulate matter was observed to decrease with increasing particle size. Multifractality in atmospheric parameters were found to reduce with increasing time steps. The monthly analysis suggests the influence of seasonal transitions on multifractality of particulate matter.