Abstract
The influence of North African (NAF) dust events on the air quality at the regional level (12 representative monitoring stations) in Southern Europe during a long time series (2007–2014) was studied. PM10 levels and chemical composition were separated by Atlantic (ATL) and NAF air masses. An increase in the average PM10 concentrations was observed on sampling days with NAF dust influence (42 μg m−3) when compared to ATL air masses (29 μg m−3). Major compounds such as crustal components and secondary inorganic compounds (SIC), as well as toxic trace elements derived from industrial emissions, also showed higher concentrations of NAF events. A source contribution analysis using positive matrix factorisation (PMF) 5.0 of the PM10 chemical data, discriminating ATL and NAF air mass origins, allowed the identification of five sources: crustal, sea salt, traffic, regional, and industrial. A higher contribution (74%) of the natural sources to PM10 concentrations was confirmed under NAF episodes compared with ATL. Furthermore, there was an increase in anthropogenic sources during these events (51%), indicating the important influence of the NAF air masses on these sources. The results of this study highlight that environmental managers should take appropriate actions to reduce local emissions during NAF events to ensure good air quality.
Highlights
Mineral dust is one of the main components of atmospheric partic ulate matter (PM)
The present study highlights the importance of performing long-term series studies of source contribution using chemical data of PM10 at the regional level in Southern Europe
Mean PM10 concentrations and their chemical composition were studied during the period from 2007 to 2014 to differentiate between two scenarios: North African (NAF) events and ATL air masses origin
Summary
Mineral dust is one of the main components of atmospheric partic ulate matter (PM). Large loads of mineral particles are transported from arid areas, contributing to different effects on climate, human health, and the environment (Towhy et al, 2009; Mahowald et al, 2010; Zhang et al, 2016; Middleton, 2019). A procedure was developed to calculate the North African (NAF) load of the daily PM10 value when these events occur. For this purpose, PM10 background regional levels were calculated by applying either the 30th percentile (Escudero et al, 2007) or the 40th percentile to PM10 time series at regional background stations, after extracting the data associated with NAF dust outbreaks. The net African dust loads were obtained by subtracting the PM10 regional background levels from the PM10 values measured at the regional background sites during the NAF episodes. The European Directive 2008/50/EC (EU, 2008) allows the discount of PM exceed ances due to NAF dust events
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