Terminology
Source (of air pollution)
A human activity or natural process that causes pollutants to be released into the atmosphere,
Source category
A group of sources that emit pollutants with similar chemical composition and time trends,
PM Source Profile (or fingerprint)
It is the average relative chemical composition of the PM deriving from a pollution source, commonly expressed as the ratio between the mass of every species to the total PM mass.
References
Belis C. A., B. R. Larsen, F. Amato, I. El Haddad, O. Favez, R. M. Harrison, P. K. Hopke, S. Nava, P. Paatero, A. Prévôt, U. Quass, R. Vecchi, M. Viana. 2014. European Guide on Air Pollution Source Apportionment with Receptor Models. JRC Reference Report EUR 26080 EN. ISBN 978-92-79-32513-7.