Events Affecting Levels and Seasonal Evolution of Airborne Particulate Matter Concentrations in the Western Mediterranean
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- 作者：Sergio Rodrí ; guez ; Xavier Querol ; André ; s Alastuey ; Marí ; a-Mar Viana ; and Enrique Mantilla
- 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
- 出版年：2003
- 出版时间：January 15, 2003
- 年：2003
- 卷：37
- 期：2
- 页码：216 - 222
- 全文大小：279K
- 年卷期：v.37,no.2(January 15, 2003)
- ISSN：1520-5851
文摘
Time series (1996-2000) of levels of PM (PM10 and TSP)and gaseous pollutants recorded in air quality monitoringnetworks from Northeastern Spain were interpretedusing meteorological data and satellite observations ofAfrican dust plumes. The main objective of this study wasto identify the processes affecting time variations of PMlevels on a day-to-day and seasonal basis. From March toOctober PM levels at rural, urban, and industrial sitesvary as a function of the concatenation of Atlantic air massadvections (Atlantic episodes with low PM levels) andregional circulations (regional events with high PM levels,very often associated with high ozone levels), whichfavor the aging of air masses in the Western Mediterraneanbasin. During these regional episodes, PM is transportedfrom urban/industrial to rural sites by meso-scale circulations.From November to February low PM levels are recordedat rural sites, and variations in PM levels at urban/industrialsites are governed by the successive occurrence ofAtlantic episodes and local urban/industrial pollution events.The African dust outbreaks take place throughout theyear and may induce PM levels to increase simultaneouslyin large areas of the Iberian peninsula. The differencebetween PM concentrations measured at urban and ruralsites experiences a seasonal trend similar to that oflevels of NOx and CO, which is characterized by a wintermaximum due to the higher frequency of intensive localurban pollution events. However, maximum PM levels arerecorded in summer at rural sites owing to the frequentoccurrence of regional episodes. Furthermore, in three yearsof the study period (1997, 1998, and 2000), a second-order PM maximum was also recorded at rural sites inMarch owing to intensive African dust outbreaks.