The impact of Mount Etna sulfur emissions on the atmospheric composition and aerosol properties in the central Mediterranean: A statistical analysis over the period 2000–2013 based on observations and Lagrangian modelling

Sellitto, Pasquale; Zanetel, Claudia; Sarra, Alcide di; Salerno, Giuseppe; Tapparo, Andrea; Meloni, Daniela; Pace, Giandomenico; Caltabiano, Tommaso; Briole, Pierre; Legras, Bernard

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.10.032

Cited by 41 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…At the station for climate Observations, which is located on a plateau 45 m a.s.l on the northeastern coast of Lampedusa, continuous observations of aerosol properties Becagli et al, 2013;Marconi et al, 2014;Calzolai et al, 2015;Sellitto et al, 2017), aerosol radiative effects (e.g. Casasanta et al, 2011; and other climatic parameters are carried out.…”

Section: Aerosol Sampling and Chemical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraining the ship contribution to the aerosol of the central Mediterranean

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters lower than 10 µm, (PM 10 ) aerosol samples were collected during summer 2013 within the framework of the Chemistry and Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx) at two sites located north (Capo Granitola) and south (Lampedusa Island), respectively, of the main Mediterranean shipping route in the Straight of Sicily.The PM 10 samples were collected with 12 h time resolutions at both sites. Selected metals, main anions, cations and elemental and organic carbon were determined.The evolution of soluble V and Ni concentrations (typical markers of heavy fuel oil combustion) was related to meteorology and ship traffic intensity in the Straight of Sicily, using a high-resolution regional model for calculation of back trajectories. Elevated concentration of V and Ni at Capo Granitola and Lampedusa are found to correspond with air masses from the Straight of Sicily and coincidences between trajectories and positions of large ships; the vertical structure of the planetary boundary layer also appears to play a role, with high V values associated with strong inversions and a stable boundary layer. The V concentration was generally lower at Lampedusa than at Capo Granitola V, where it reached a peak value of 40 ng m −3 .Concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs), La and Ce in particular, were used to identify possible contributions from refineries, whose emissions are also characterized by elevated V and Ni amounts; refinery emissions are expected to display high La / Ce and La / V ratios due to the use of La in the fluid catalytic converter systems. In general, low La / Ce and La / V ratios were observed in the PM samples. The combination of the analyses based on chemical markers, air mass trajectories and ship routes allows us to unambiguously identify the large role of the ship source in the Straight of Sicily.Based on the sampled aerosols, ratios of the main aerosol species arising from ship emission with respect to V were estimated with the aim of deriving a lower limit for the total ship contribution to PM 10 . The estimated minimum ship emission contributions to PM 10 were 2.0 µg m −3 at Lampedusa and 3.0 µg m −3 at Capo Granitola, corresponding with 11 and 8.6 % of PM 10 , respectively.

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Section: Aerosol Sampling and Chemical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraining the ship contribution to the aerosol of the central Mediterranean

et al. 2017

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“…Volcanic emissions from such volcanoes have a direct effect on the atmospheric composition and air quality in the surrounding area (Sellitto et al, 2017). Long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) is known to correlate with severe health effects such as increased cardiovascular, respiratory, and allergic diseases, leading to enhanced mortality rates (Bernstein et al, 2004;Pöschl, 2005;Pope and Dockery, 2006), depending largely on the composition of the aerosol (Pöschl, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical analysis of dispersal and deposition patterns of volcanic emissions from Mt. Sakurajima, Japan

Poulidis

Takemi

Shimizu

et al. 2018

Atmospheric Environment

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A B S T R A C TWith the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) in 2010, interest in the transport of volcanic ash after moderate to major eruptions has increased with regards to both the physical and the emergency hazard management aspects. However, there remain significant gaps in the understanding of the long-term behaviour of emissions from volcanoes with long periods of activity. Mt. Sakurajima (Japan) provides us with a rare opportunity to study such activity, due to its eruptive behaviour and dense observation network. In the 6-year period from 2009 to 2015, the volcano was erupting at an almost constant rate introducing approximately 500 kt of ash per month to the atmosphere. The long-term characteristics of the transport and deposition of ash and SO 2 in the area surrounding the volcano are studied here using daily surface observations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and SO 2 and monthly ashfall values.Results reveal different dispersal patterns for SO 2 and volcanic ash, suggesting volcanic emissions' separation in the long-term. Peak SO 2 concentrations at different locations on the volcano vary up to 2 orders of magnitude and decrease steeply with distance. Airborne volcanic ash increases SPM concentrations uniformly across the area surrounding the volcano, with distance from the vent having a secondary effect. During the period studied here, the influence of volcanic emissions was identifiable both in SO 2 and SPM concentrations which were, at times, over the recommended exposure limits defined by the Japanese government, European Union and the World Health Organisation.Depositional patterns of volcanic ash exhibit elements of seasonality, consistent with previous studies. Climatological and topographic effects are suspected to impact the deposition of volcanic ash away from the vent: for sampling stations located close to complex topographical elements, sharp changes in the deposition patterns were observed, with ash deposits for neighbouring stations as close as 5 km differing as much as an order of magnitude. Despite these effects, deposition was sufficiently approximated by an inverse power law relationship, the fidelity of which depended on the distance from the vent: for proximal to intermediate areas (20 km), errors decrease with longer accumulation periods (tested here for 1-72 months), while the opposite was seen for deposition in distal areas (>20 km).

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“…Longer-term analyses have shown that Mt. Etna's sulphur emissions can have a significant decadal impact on aerosol optical properties even in weakly ventilated subsectors, like observed at Lampedusa (southwestern quadrant) [Sellitto et al, 2017].…”

Section: Iii3 Med-suv Wp5mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First results have allowed the characterization of the Etnean plumes dispersion at the decadal timescale, thus quantifying the frequency of ventilation of different mediterranean sub-sectors and confirming the prevalence (about 80% frequency) of the dispersion of the plumes towards the eastern quadrant (i.e., towards Greece) [Sellitto et al, 2017].…”

Section: Iii2 Smedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The EtnaPlumeLab (EPL) research cluster: advance the understanding of Mt. Etna plume, from source characterisation to downwind impact

Sellitto

Salerno

Briole

2017

Annals of Geophysics

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In 2013, a multidisciplinary research cluster named EtnaPlumeLab (EPL) was established, gathering experts from volcanology and atmospheric science communities. Target of EPL is to advance the understanding of Mt. Etna's gas and aerosol emissions and the related processes, from source to its regional climatic impact in the Mediterranean area. Here, we present the cluster and its three interacting modules: EPL-RADIO (Radioactive Aerosols and other source parameters for better atmospheric Dispersion and Impact estimatiOns), SMED (Sulfur MEditerranean Dispersion) and Med-SuV (MEDiterranean SUpersite Volcanoes) Work Package 5. First results have provided pioneering highlights on the relevance of Mt. Etna's plume impact at the Mediterranean regional scale. These results underline that further efforts need to be made to get insight into a synoptic volcanogenic-atmospheric chemistry/climatic understanding of volcanic plumes impact.

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The impact of Mount Etna sulfur emissions on the atmospheric composition and aerosol properties in the central Mediterranean: A statistical analysis over the period 2000–2013 based on observations and Lagrangian modelling

Cited by 41 publications

References 39 publications

Constraining the ship contribution to the aerosol of the central Mediterranean

Constraining the ship contribution to the aerosol of the central Mediterranean

Statistical analysis of dispersal and deposition patterns of volcanic emissions from Mt. Sakurajima, Japan

The EtnaPlumeLab (EPL) research cluster: advance the understanding of Mt. Etna plume, from source characterisation to downwind impact

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