Aerosol sources and their contribution to the chemical composition of aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during summertime

Sciare, Jean; Bardouki, H.; Moulin, C.; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

doi:10.5194/acp-3-291-2003

Cited by 181 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These summer concentrations, about 10 % higher than those observed in Thessaloniki (Tsidouridou and Samara, 1993), were associated with transport from eastern and central Europe. This is consistent with Sciare et al (2003), who measured particulate nss-SO 4 during a 1-month experiment in summer 2000 at a background site on Crete. They found a high average concentration of 6 µg m −3 (∼ 62 nmole m −3 ) for air masses originating from Turkey and central Europe.…”

Section: Particulate Sulfate (So 4 ) Abundancesupporting

confidence: 79%

“…They derived an annual flux of the order of 0.06 Tg yr −1 of (dry) S across the corresponding surface. Given the observed ratio of SO 4 to total S of 40-90 % in the region (Matvev et al, 2002;Sciare et al, 2003), the annual flux of SO 4 based on field measurements is 0.024-0.054 Tg yr −1 . Rudich et al (2008) used satellite data to estimate the pollution transport toward the EM.…”

Section: Particulate Sulfate (So 4 ) Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in general and predominantly, mineral dust affects the EM during all seasons except summer (e.g., Dayan et al, 1991;Moulin et al, 1998;Sciare et al, 2003), which is the reason why mineral dust is not in the scope of this study which is focused on summer conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The eastern Mediterranean (EM) is one of the regions in the world where elevated concentrations of primary and secondary gaseous air pollutants have been reported frequently, mainly in summer. This review discusses published studies of the atmospheric dispersion and transport conditions characterizing this region during the summer, followed by a description of some essential studies dealing with the corresponding concentrations of air pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, total reactive nitrogen, methane, and sulfate aerosols observed there.The interlaced relationship between the downward motion of the subsiding air aloft induced by global circulation systems affecting the EM and the depth of the Persian Trough, a low-pressure trough that extends from the Asian monsoon at the surface controlling the spatiotemporal distribution of the mixed boundary layer during summer, is discussed. The strength of the wind flow within the mixed layer and its depth affect much the amount of pollutants transported and determine the potential of the atmosphere to disperse contaminants off their origins in the EM. The reduced mixed layer and the accompanying weak westerlies, characterizing the summer in this region, led to reduced ventilation rates, preventing an effective dilution of the contaminants. Several studies pointing at specific local (e.g., ventilation rates) and regional peculiarities (long-range transport) enhancing the build-up of air pollutant concentrations are presented.Tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) concentrations observed in the summer over the EM are among the highest over the Northern Hemisphere. The three essential processes controlling its formation (i.e., long-range transport of polluted air masses, dynamic subsidence at mid-tropospheric levels, and stratosphere-to-troposphere exchange) are reviewed. Airborne campaigns and satellite-borne initiatives have indicated that the concentration values of reactive nitrogen identified as precursors in the formation of O 3 over the EM were found to be 2 to 10 times higher than in the hemispheric background troposphere. Several factors favor sulfate particulate abundance over the EM. Models, aircraft measurements, and satellite-derived data have clearly shown that sulfate has a maximum during spring and summer over the EM. The carbon monoxide (CO) seasonal cycle, as obtained from global background monitoring sites in the EM, is mostly controlled by the tropospheric concentration of the hydroxyl radical (OH) and therefore demonstrates high concentrations over winter months and the lowest concentrations during summer when photochemistry is active. Modeling studies have shown that the diurnal variations in CO concentration during the summer result from long-range CO transport from European anthropogenic sources, contributing 60 to 80 % of the boundary-layer CO over the EM. The values retrieved from satellite data enable us to derive the spatial distribution of methane (CH 4 ), identifying August as the month with the highest levels over the EM. The outcomes of a...

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Section: Particulate Sulfate (So 4 ) Abundancesupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Particulate Sulfate (So 4 ) Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

et al. 2017

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“…Non-sea-salt (nss) sulfate concentrations were estimated by assuming all sodium ions originated from sea salts. The nsssulfate, which can be considered secondary aerosol, was calculated as 96% of the total sulfate, based on sodium concentrations (nss-sulfate = total sulfate -0.252 × sodium) (Sciare et al, 2003).…”

Section: Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical characteristics of long-range-transported fine particulate matter at Gosan, Jeju Island, in the spring and fall of 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012

Lee

Kim

Kang

et al. 2014

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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Carbonaceous species (organic carbon [OC] and elemental carbon [EC]) and inorganic ions of particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) were measured to investigate the chemical characteristics of long-range-transported (LTP) PM 2.5 at Gosan, Jeju Island, in Korea in the spring and fall of 2008-2012 (excluding 2010). On average, the non-sea-salt (nss) sulfate (4.2 µg/m 3 ) was the most dominant species in the spring, followed by OC (2.6 µg/m ). Both sulfate and OC were higher in the fall than in the spring, possibly due to more common northwest air masses (i.e., coming from China and Korea polluted areas) and more frequent biomass burnings in the fall. There was no clear difference in the EC between the spring and fall. The correlation between OC and EC was not strong; thus, the OC measured at Gosan was likely transported across a long distance and was not necessarily produced in a manner similar to the EC. Distinct types of LTP events (i.e., sulfate-dominant LTP versus OC-dominant LTP) were observed. In the sulfate-dominant LTP events, air masses directly arrived at Gosan without passing over the Korean Peninsula from the industrial area of China within 48 hr. During these events, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) increased to 1.63. Ionic balance data suggest that the long-range transported aerosols are acidic. In the OC-dominant LTP event, a higher residence time of air masses in Korea was observed (the air masses departing from the mainland of China arrived at the sampling site after passing Korea within 60-80 hr).Implications: In Northeast Asia, various natural and anthropogenic sources contribute to the complex chemical components and affect local/regional air quality and climate change. Chemical characteristics of long-range-transported (LTP) PM 2.5 were investigated during spring and fall of 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. Based on air mass types, sulfate-dominant LTP and OC-dominant LTP were observed. A long-term variation and chemical characteristics of PM 2.5 along with air mass and satellite data are required to better understand long-range-transported aerosols.

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“…This high variability in terms of PMA loading and optical, physical and chemical properties leads to significant uncertainties in the quantification of regional radiative impact, both for direct and indirect effects (Forster et al, 2007;Stevens and Feingold, 2009). Finally, it should be noted that most past studies have documented aerosol properties in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin (Crete Mihalopoulos et al, 1997;Bardouki et al, 2003;Sciare et al, 2003;Koulouri et al, 2008;Greece Chabas and Lefèvre, 2000), even though many studies also took place in the central (Meloni et al, 2004;Di Iorio et al, 2009) and western (Sellegri et al, 2001;Cros et al, 2004;Pey et al, 2009;Guerrero-Rascado et al, 2009) Mediterranean Basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols transported to a coastal site in the western Mediterranean: a focus on primary marine aerosols

et al. 2017

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Abstract. As part of the ChArMEx-ADRIMED campaign (summer 2013), ground-based in situ observations were conducted at the Ersa site (northern tip of Corsica; 533 m a.s.l.) to characterise the optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols. During the observation period, a major influence of primary marine aerosols was detected (22-26 June), with a mass concentration reaching up to 6.5 µg m −3 and representing more than 40 % of the total PM 10 mass concentration. Its relatively low ratio of chloride to sodium (average of 0.57) indicates a fairly aged sea salt aerosol at Ersa. In this work, an original data set, obtained from online real-time instruments (ATOFMS, PILS-IC) has been used to characterise the ageing of primary marine aerosols (PMAs). During this PMA period, the mixing of fresh and aged PMAs was found to originate from both local and regional (Gulf of Lion) emissions, according to local wind measurements and FLEXPART back trajectories. Two different aerosol regimes have been identified: a dust outbreak (dust) originating from Algeria/Tunisia, and a pollution period with aerosols originating from eastern Europe, which includes anthropogenic and biomass burning sources (BBP). The optical, physical and chemical properties of the observed aerosols, as well as their local shortwave (SW) direct radiative effect (DRE) in clear-sky conditions, are compared for these three periods in order to assess the importance of the direct radiative impact of PMAs compared to other sources above the western Mediterranean Basin.As expected, AERONET retrievals indicate a relatively low local SW DRF during the PMA period with mean values of −11 ± 4 at the surface and −8 ± 3 W m −2 at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). In comparison, our results indicate that the dust outbreak observed at our site during the campaign, although of moderate intensity (AOD of 0.3-0.4 at 440 nm and column-integrated SSA of 0.90-0.95), induced a local instantaneous SW DRF that is nearly 3 times the effect calculated during the PMA period, with maximum values up to −40 W m −2 at the surface. A similar range of values were found for the BBP period to those during the dust period (SW DRF at the surface and TOA of −23 ± 6 and −15 ± 4 W m −2 respectively).The multiple sources of measurements at Ersa allowed the detection of a PMA-dominant period and their characterisation in terms of ageing, origin, transport, optical and physical properties and direct climatic impact.

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Aerosol sources and their contribution to the chemical composition of aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during summertime

Cited by 181 publications

References 37 publications

Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

Chemical characteristics of long-range-transported fine particulate matter at Gosan, Jeju Island, in the spring and fall of 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012

Optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols transported to a coastal site in the western Mediterranean: a focus on primary marine aerosols

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