An outstanding Saharan dust event at Mt. Cimone (2165 m a.s.l., Italy) in March 2004

Brattich, Erika; Riccio, Angelo; Tositti, Laura; Cristofanelli, Paolo; Bonasoni, Paolo

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.05.017

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 119 publications

(140 reference statements)

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“…At CIM, both PM 10 and 210 Pb are largely contributed by SW flows. However, contributions to PM 10 originated in Northern Africa are increased with respect to 210 Pb, as previously suggested in the residence time analysis and related to the relevant contribution of North Africa to coarse-sized particles as compared to fine-sized ones (e.g., Brattich et al, 2015b). In particular the amount of the coarse fraction transported by Saharan dust is quite variable, definitely depending on the amount of transported mineral dust.…”

Section: Source Areas Of 210 Pb and Pm 10supporting

confidence: 65%

“…At ARE, black filled circles are close to the upper limit in the 210 Pb/ PM 10 ratio. Furthermore, the presence of black filled circles on the right side of the plots (also with different conditions implying a higher number of endpoints over Africa) suggests the more relevant influence of African outbreaks on PM 10 load than on 210 Pb at CIM: in fact, as reported by and Brattich et al (2015b), at CIM Saharan dust transports affect both fine and coarse particles, the latter being typically heavier and therefore strongly affecting PM 10 .…”

Section: Residence Time Analysis Of Air Trajectoriesmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Several works have studied the impact of Saharan dust advections on the properties of atmospheric aerosol at this site (Balkanski et al, 2003;van Dingenen et al, 2005;Marenco et al, 2006;Marinoni et al, 2008;Brattich et al, 2015b;.…”

Section: Sampling Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The western Mediterranean basin as an aged aerosols reservoir. Insights from an old-fashioned but efficient radiotracer

Brattich

Hernández-Ceballos

Orza

et al. 2016

Atmospheric Environment

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Section: Source Areas Of 210 Pb and Pm 10supporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Residence Time Analysis Of Air Trajectoriesmentioning

confidence: 73%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The western Mediterranean basin as an aged aerosols reservoir. Insights from an old-fashioned but efficient radiotracer

Brattich

Hernández-Ceballos

Orza

et al. 2016

Atmospheric Environment

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“…To determine the relative abundance of TB aggregates from other geographical locations and environmental conditions, we also analyzed samples collected in Richland, WA (46°20′ N, 119°16′ W; 115 m above sea level), West Bengal, India (23°14′ N, 87°02′ E; 112 m above sea level), and at a high elevation from the remote Pico Mountain Observatory , in the Azores Islands (38°28′ N, 28°24′ W; 2225 m above sea level) in Portugal and at the Italian Climate Observatory, at Mt. Cimone (44°11′ N, 10°42′ E; 2165 m above sea level).…”

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fractal-like Tar Ball Aggregates from Wildfire Smoke

Girotto

China

Bhandari

et al. 2018

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

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Tar balls are atmospheric particles that are abundant in slightly aged biomass burning smoke and have a significant, but highly uncertain, role in Earth’s radiative balance. Tar balls are typically detected using electron microscopy and generally, they are observed as individual spheres. Here, we report new observations of a significant fraction of tar ball aggregates (∼27% by number) from samples collected in a plume of the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire in New Mexico. The structure of these aggregates is fractal-like and follows a scale invariant power law similar to that of soot particles, despite the considerably larger size and smaller number of monomers. We also present observations of tar ball aggregates from four other geographical locations, including a remote high-elevation site in the North Atlantic Ocean. Aggregation affects the particle optical properties and, therefore, their climatic impact. We performed numerical simulations based on the observed morphology and estimated the effects of aggregation on the optical properties of the tar balls. On the basis of single-particle numerical simulations, we find that aggregates had a single scattering albedo up to 41% and 23% higher than that of individual tar balls at 550 nm and 350 nm, respectively.

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“…Mineral dust is often transported at a large scale, influencing vast continental and ocean areas (Barkan and Alpert, 2010). The most immediate effect of mineral dust in a specific area is the (sometimes dramatic) increase in particulate matter (PM) mass loading (Brattich et al, 2015a), mainly in the coarse fraction. Several studies have also demonstrated L. Tositti et al: Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 that mineral dust can affect cloud processing (Bangert et al, 2012) and the biogeochemical cycles of ecosystems (Okin et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020

et al. 2022

Self Cite

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Abstract. This paper concerns an in-depth analysis of an exceptional incursion of mineral dust over southern Europe in late March 2020 (27–30 March 2020). This event was associated with an anomalous circulation pattern leading to several days of PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm) exceedances in connection with a dust source located in central Asia; this is a rare source of dust for Europe, which is more frequently affected by dust outbreaks from the Sahara Desert. The synoptic meteorological configuration was analyzed in detail, and the aerosol evolution during the transit of the dust plume over northern Italy was assessed at high time resolution by means of optical particle counting at three stations, namely Bologna, Trieste, and Mt. Cimone, allowing for the revelation of the transport timing among the three locations. Back-trajectory analyses supported by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) maps allowed for the location of the mineral dust source area in the Aralkum region. Therefore, the event was analyzed by observing the particle number size distribution with the support of chemical composition analysis. It is shown that the PM10 exceedance recorded is associated with a large fraction of coarse particles, which is in agreement with mineral dust properties. Both the in situ number size distribution and the vertical distribution of the dust plume were cross-checked using lidar ceilometer and aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from two nearby stations and showed that the dust plume (in contrast to those originating from the Sahara Desert) traveled close to the ground (up to a height of about 2 km). The limited mixing layer height caused by high concentrations of absorbing and scattering aerosols caused the mixing of mineral dust with other locally produced ambient aerosols, thereby potentially increasing its morbidity effects.

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An outstanding Saharan dust event at Mt. Cimone (2165 m a.s.l., Italy) in March 2004

Cited by 15 publications

References 119 publications

The western Mediterranean basin as an aged aerosols reservoir. Insights from an old-fashioned but efficient radiotracer

The western Mediterranean basin as an aged aerosols reservoir. Insights from an old-fashioned but efficient radiotracer

Fractal-like Tar Ball Aggregates from Wildfire Smoke

Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020

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