Saharan air masses can transport high amounts of mineral dust particles and biological material to the Iberian Peninsula. During winter, this kind of events is not very frequent and usually does not reach the northwest of the Peninsula. However, between 21 and 22 February 2016 and between 22 and 23 February 2017, two exceptional eventswere registered in León (Spain),which severely affected air quality. An integrative approach including: i) typical synoptic conditions; ii) aerosol chemical composition; iii) particle size distributions; iv) pollen concentration; v) aerosol optical depth (AOD); vi) radiative forcing and vii) estimation of the impact of aerosols in the respiratory tract, was carried out. In the global characterization of these events, the exceedance of the PM10 daily limit value, an increase in the coarsemode and a rise in the iron concentration were observed. On the 2016 event, an AOD and extinction-related Ångström exponent clearly characteristic of desert aerosol (1.1 and 0.05,respectively)were registered. Furthermore, pollen grains not typical of flowering plants in this periodwere identified. The chemical analysis of the aerosol from the 2017 event allowed us to confirm the presence of the main elements associated with mineral sources (aluminum, calcium, and silica concentrations). An increase in the SO4 2−, NO3 − and Cl− concentrations during the Saharan dust intrusion was also noted. However, in this event, there was no presence of atypical pollen types. The estimated dust radiative forcing traduced a cooling effect for surface and atmosphere during both events, corroborated by trends of radiative flux measurements. The estimated impact on the respiratory tract regions of the high levels of particulatematter during both Saharan dust intrusions showed high levels for the respirable fraction.

Unusual winter Saharan dust intrusions at Northwest Spain: Air quality, radiative and health impacts / Oduber F.; Calvo A.I.; Blanco-Alegre C.; Castro A.; Nunes T.; Alves C.; Sorribas M.; Fernandez-Gonzalez D.; Vega-Maray A.M.; Valencia-Barrera R.M.; Lucarelli F.; Nava S.; Calzolai G.; Alonso-Blanco E.; Fraile B.; Fialho P.; Coz E.; Prevot A.S.H.; Pont V.; Fraile R.. - In: SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. - ISSN 0048-9697. - STAMPA. - 669:(2019), pp. 213-228. [10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.305]

Unusual winter Saharan dust intrusions at Northwest Spain: Air quality, radiative and health impacts

Lucarelli F.;Nava S.;Calzolai G.;
2019

Abstract

Saharan air masses can transport high amounts of mineral dust particles and biological material to the Iberian Peninsula. During winter, this kind of events is not very frequent and usually does not reach the northwest of the Peninsula. However, between 21 and 22 February 2016 and between 22 and 23 February 2017, two exceptional eventswere registered in León (Spain),which severely affected air quality. An integrative approach including: i) typical synoptic conditions; ii) aerosol chemical composition; iii) particle size distributions; iv) pollen concentration; v) aerosol optical depth (AOD); vi) radiative forcing and vii) estimation of the impact of aerosols in the respiratory tract, was carried out. In the global characterization of these events, the exceedance of the PM10 daily limit value, an increase in the coarsemode and a rise in the iron concentration were observed. On the 2016 event, an AOD and extinction-related Ångström exponent clearly characteristic of desert aerosol (1.1 and 0.05,respectively)were registered. Furthermore, pollen grains not typical of flowering plants in this periodwere identified. The chemical analysis of the aerosol from the 2017 event allowed us to confirm the presence of the main elements associated with mineral sources (aluminum, calcium, and silica concentrations). An increase in the SO4 2−, NO3 − and Cl− concentrations during the Saharan dust intrusion was also noted. However, in this event, there was no presence of atypical pollen types. The estimated dust radiative forcing traduced a cooling effect for surface and atmosphere during both events, corroborated by trends of radiative flux measurements. The estimated impact on the respiratory tract regions of the high levels of particulatematter during both Saharan dust intrusions showed high levels for the respirable fraction.
2019
669
213
228
Oduber F.; Calvo A.I.; Blanco-Alegre C.; Castro A.; Nunes T.; Alves C.; Sorribas M.; Fernandez-Gonzalez D.; Vega-Maray A.M.; Valencia-Barrera R.M.; Lucarelli F.; Nava S.; Calzolai G.; Alonso-Blanco E.; Fraile B.; Fialho P.; Coz E.; Prevot A.S.H.; Pont V.; Fraile R.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Unusual winter Saharan dust intrusions at Northwest Spain Air quality, radiative and health impacts.pdf

Accesso chiuso

Tipologia: Pdf editoriale (Version of record)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati
Dimensione 5.39 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
5.39 MB Adobe PDF   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1163295
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 32
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 30
social impact