Identifying patterns of airborne pollen distribution using a synoptic climatology approach

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms of pollen release and dispersion in the atmosphere is of high importance, not only for getting an insight on the patterns of movement of these biological particles that are necessary for plants' reproduction, but also because exposure to airborne pollen is a major concern for respiratory allergies worldwide. In this work, a synoptic circulation-to-environment classification method was adopted to elucidate the relationship between distinct atmospheric patterns and pollen levels for the 11 most abundant but also allergenic taxa in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the 15-year period 1987–2001. It was found that the NW1 depressional weather type is associated with the “low winter pollen season” and high levels of pollen from Carpinus spp., Corylus spp., Cupressaceae, Platanus spp., Pinaceae, Quercus spp. and Urticaceae. In contrast, the SW1 cyclonic type is linked to the “high spring-summer pollen season” and high levels of pollen from Oleaceae and Urticaceae. On the other hand, anticyclonic weather is associated with the “summer-autumn pollen season” and high levels of Poaceae and Chenopodiaceae pollen in the atmosphere. Regional transport of Alnus pollen is linked to a strong high-pressure system centered over Italy, giving light NE winds over northern Greece. These findings shed light to the synoptic climatology of airborne pollen in Thessaloniki and could feed early-warning systems for alerting vulnerable groups of the allergic population.