Abstract
Abstract. The third intensive measurement period (IMP) organised by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the UNECE CLTRAP took place in summer 2012 and winter 2013, with PM10 filter samples concurrently collected at 20 (16 EMEP) regional background sites across Europe for subsequent analysis of their mineral dust content. All samples were analysed by the same or a comparable methodology. Higher PM10 mineral dust loadings were observed at most sites in summer (0.5–10 µg m−3) compared to winter (0.2–2 µg m−3), with the most elevated concentrations in the southern- and easternmost countries, accounting for 20–40 % of PM10. Saharan dust outbreaks were responsible for the high summer dust loadings at western and central European sites, whereas regional or local sources explained the elevated concentrations observed at eastern sites. The eastern Mediterranean sites experienced elevated levels due to African dust outbreaks during both summer and winter. The mineral dust composition varied more in winter than in summer, with a higher relative contribution of anthropogenic dust during the former period. A relatively high contribution of K from non-mineral and non-sea-salt sources, such as biomass burning, was evident in winter at some of the central and eastern European sites. The spatial distribution of some components and metals reveals the influence of specific anthropogenic sources on a regional scale: shipping emissions (V, Ni, and SO42−) in the Mediterranean region, metallurgy (Cr, Ni, and Mn) in central and eastern Europe, high temperature processes (As, Pb, and SO42−) in eastern countries, and traffic (Cu) at sites affected by emissions from nearby cities.
Highlights
Mineral dust along with sea-salt aerosols are the major components of particulate matter (PM) mass in the atmosphere on a global scale (IPCC, 2007), playing a key role in the planet (Knippertz and Stuut, 2014)
Ambient aerosol filter samples were collected at 16 European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) and 4 other regional background sites located in 14 European countries, covering a wide range of the EMEP domain (Fig. 1 and Table 1)
The high levels measured at IT01 are probably due to its proximity to the city of Rome, whereas high levels registered in ES1778 are attributed to the occurrence of two African dust outbreaks
Summary
Mineral dust along with sea-salt aerosols are the major components of particulate matter (PM) mass in the atmosphere on a global scale (IPCC, 2007), playing a key role in the planet (Knippertz and Stuut, 2014). Mineral dust particles are generated mainly by wind erosion and soil resuspension in deserts and arid regions (e.g. Zhao et al, 2010; Kok, 2011), and their size distribution is characterised by a coarse size mode with a small fraction in the accumulation mode. The magnitude of dust emissions to the atmosphere depends on the surface wind speed and soil-related factors such as texture, moisture and vegetation cover. There is still a high uncertainty in the estimates of global dust emissions varying from 500 to 3000 Mt year−1 according to models (Huneeus et al, 2011). The major mineral dust sources from arid and semi-arid continental regions are located in subtropical areas in the Northern Hemisphere, and
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