Influence of air mass origins on optical properties and PM concentrations measured at a high mountain station located in the southwestern Mediterranean

Castañer, R.; Nicolás, J.F.; Crespo, J.; Yubero, Eduardo; Galindo, Nuria; Caballero, Sandra; Pastor, C.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.07.013

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…This implies that ~26% of the days of the year were under the influence of SDE. This percentage is consistent with those obtained by Galindo et al (2017) and Castañer et al (2017) at a high mountain station (> 1500 m a.s.l.) located approximately 200 km southeast.…”

Section: Characterization Of Sdesupporting

confidence: 91%

Saharan Dust Events over the Valencian Community (Eastern Iberian Peninsula): Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Contribution to PM10 Levels

Huerta-Viso

Crespo

Galindo

et al. 2020

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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This study assessed Saharan dust events (SDE) passing over the Valencian Community (VC; eastern Spain) during the period of 2014-2017 by investigating the following topics: a) the occurrence of SDE and their impact on PM 10 mass concentrations, b) the identification of the favorable synoptic patterns at 850 hPa associated with SDE via cluster analysis and c) the applicability of the gamma probability density function (PDF) in fitting the mass contributions of SDE. We determined that these events affect the VC on ~26% of the days of the year, thereby contributing 3.3 µg m-3 (~23%) to the average PM 10 concentration. Five circulation scenarios were identified. In Scenario 1 (17.4%), the transport of Saharan dust was due to the combination of a trough situated over the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula and a high-pressure system centered on western Algeria, Tunisia and eastern Libya. According to the PDF analysis, SDE characterized by this type of pattern were the most likely to substantially increase PM 10 mass concentrations. In Scenarios 3 (39.2%) and 5 (19.4%), which contributed to high concentrations of mineral dust in the VC, a high-pressure system was located over North Africa. Scenarios 1, 3 and 5 occurred more frequently during summer, especially Scenario 3 (69%). On the other hand, Scenarios 2 (16.2%) and 4 (7.2%), both characterized by a deep low over the west or northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, typically arose during spring and, to a lesser extent, winter. These two scenarios displayed a lower probability of elevating mineral dust levels in the study area.

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Section: Characterization Of Sdesupporting

confidence: 91%

Saharan Dust Events over the Valencian Community (Eastern Iberian Peninsula): Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Contribution to PM10 Levels

Huerta-Viso

Crespo

Galindo

et al. 2020

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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“…Table 2). The effects of long-transported air parcels on the aerosol particles and its composition and sources have been discussed in previous studies [82][83][84][85] . The Asian dust particles blow from these areas in the westerly wind and play an important role in the leeward ecosystem.…”

Section: Inhalable Bacterial Community In Pm 25mentioning

confidence: 99%

Profile of inhalable bacteria in PM2.5 at Mt. Tai, China: Abundance, community, and influence of air mass trajectories

Wei

Chen

et al. 2019

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

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Highlights 1. PM 2.5 samples exhibited a high microbial biodiversity and complex chemical composition 2. Relationships between bacterial populations and PM composition were investigated. 3. The highest bacterial concentration and more potential pathogens were recorded under the influence of local air pollutants. 4. The long-range transported air mass exhibited highest richness and diversity with an increased abundance of dust-borne bacteria.

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“…This value was higher than that recorded in the absence of events (0.776). Values close to or above 0.900 (λ = 520 nm) have been previously obtained in the Iberian Peninsula during Saharan events [17,[39][40][41]. The spectral variation of SSA can provide useful information about the dominance of specific aerosol types (e.g., BC, organic carbon, dust, sulfates) during events [42,43].…”

Section: Aop Variations As a Function Of The Characteristics Of Sdementioning

confidence: 64%

“…Aerosol optical properties (AOP) can undergo significant variations under the influence of SDE. Several studies carried out in the Iberian Peninsula have analyzed the impact of SDE on AOP [12][13][14][15][16][17]. The main variations in AOP during SDE include: increases in the scattering (σ sp ) and absorption (σ ap ) coefficients; a rise in the Absorption Angström Exponent (AAE) due to the absorption of UV and visible radiation by MD; a drop in the Scattering Angström Exponent (SAE) because of the predominance of coarse particles during these events; and a rise in the Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) value since the relative increase in σ sp is greater than that in σ ap .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Intense Winter Saharan Dust Events on PM and Optical Properties at Urban Sites in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula

et al. 2021

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The influence of three Saharan dust events (SDE) on particulate matter (PM) concentrations and aerosol optical properties (AOP) during February 2021 was studied. The physical characteristics of the African aerosol were different for each episode. Therefore, the impacts of the three events on PM and AOP were analyzed separately. The monitoring sites were placed in Elche, in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The sites can be classified as urban background locations. The procedure used to obtain the contribution of SDE to PM10 mass concentrations was the 40th percentile method. Nearly half of the days during the study period were under the influence of Saharan air masses. The average contribution of mineral dust (MD) to the PM10 mean concentration was ~50%, which was the highest contribution during the month of February in the last 14 years. The results show that those events characterized by a high input of fine particles (PM1 and PM2.5) caused larger increases in the absorption (σap) and scattering (σsp) coefficients than SDE in which coarse particles predominated. Nevertheless, as expected, SAE (Scattering Angström Exponent) values were lowest during these episodes. AAE (Absorption Angström Exponent) values during SDE were slightly higher than those observed in the absence of African dust, suggesting some contribution from MD to the absorption process.

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Influence of air mass origins on optical properties and PM concentrations measured at a high mountain station located in the southwestern Mediterranean

Cited by 12 publications

References 43 publications

Saharan Dust Events over the Valencian Community (Eastern Iberian Peninsula): Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Contribution to PM10 Levels

Saharan Dust Events over the Valencian Community (Eastern Iberian Peninsula): Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Contribution to PM10 Levels

Profile of inhalable bacteria in PM2.5 at Mt. Tai, China: Abundance, community, and influence of air mass trajectories

The Impact of Intense Winter Saharan Dust Events on PM and Optical Properties at Urban Sites in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula

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