African dust outbreaks over the western Mediterranean Basin: 11-year characterization of atmospheric circulation patterns and dust source areas

Abstract. The occurrence of African dust outbreaks over different areas of the western Mediterranean Basin were identified on an 11-year period (2001–2011). The main atmospheric circulation patterns causing the transport of African air masses were characterized by means of an objective classification methodology of atmospheric variable fields. Next, the potential source areas of mineral dust, associated to each circulation pattern were identified by trajectory statistical methods. Finally, an impact index was calculated to estimate the incidence of the African dust outbreaks produced during each circulation pattern, in the areas of study. Four circulation types were obtained (I–IV) and three main potential source areas of African dust were identified (Western Sahara and Morocco; Algeria; northeastern Algeria and Tunisia). The circulation pattern I (24% of the total number of episodic days) produced the transport of dust mainly in summer from Western Sahara, southern Morocco and Tunisia. The circulation pattern IV (33%) brings dust mainly from areas of northern and southern Algeria in summer and autumn, respectively. The circulation pattern II (31%) favored the transport of dust predominantly from northern Algeria, both in spring and summer. Finally, the circulation type III was the less frequently observed (12%). It occurred mainly in spring and with less intensity in winter, carrying dust from Western Sahara and southern Morocco. Our findings point out that the most intense episodes over the western Mediterranean Basin were produced in the summer period by the circulation type I (over the western side of the Iberian Peninsula) and the circulation type IV (over the central and eastern sides of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands).

[1]  A. Tobías,et al.  Impact of Saharan dust particles on hospital admissions in Madrid (Spain) , 2014, International journal of environmental health research.

[2]  Mar Viana,et al.  African dust contribution to ambient aerosol levels across central Spain: Characterization of long-range transport episodes of desert dust , 2013 .

[3]  M. Stafoggia,et al.  African dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean Basin during 2001–2011: PM 10 concentrations, phenomenology and trends, and its relation with synoptic and mesoscale meteorology , 2012 .

[4]  N. Pérez,et al.  Trends of particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and chemical composition at a regional background site in the Western Mediterranean over the last nine years (2002–2010) , 2012 .

[5]  Ming Zhao,et al.  Global‐scale attribution of anthropogenic and natural dust sources and their emission rates based on MODIS Deep Blue aerosol products , 2012 .

[6]  A. Tobías,et al.  Short-term effects of particulate matter on total mortality during Saharan dust outbreaks: a case-crossover analysis in Madrid (Spain). , 2011, The Science of the total environment.

[7]  N. Pérez,et al.  Transport of desert dust mixed with North African industrial pollutants in the subtropical Saharan Air Layer , 2011 .

[8]  X. Querol,et al.  Objective identification of synoptic meteorological patterns favouring African dust intrusions into the marine boundary layer of the subtropical eastern north Atlantic region , 2011 .

[9]  A. Tobías,et al.  Are Saharan dust intrusions increasing the risk of meningococcal meningitis? , 2011, International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.

[10]  J. Thepaut,et al.  The ERA‐Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system , 2011 .

[11]  X. Querol,et al.  Assessing the performance of methods to detect and quantify African dust in airborne particulates. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  Paul Ginoux,et al.  Identification of anthropogenic and natural dust sources using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue level 2 data , 2010 .

[13]  G. Kallos,et al.  African dust contributions to mean ambient PM10 mass-levels across the Mediterranean Basin , 2009 .

[14]  B. Nsom,et al.  Impact of Saharan dust on PM10 concentration in the Mediterranean Tunisian coasts. , 2009 .

[15]  M. Legrand,et al.  Evaluation of aerosol sources at European high altitude background sites with trajectory statistical methods , 2009 .

[16]  Andreas Philipp,et al.  Classifications of Atmospheric Circulation Patterns , 2008, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[17]  A. Tobías,et al.  Coarse Particles From Saharan Dust and Daily Mortality , 2008, Epidemiology.

[18]  Eliseo Monfort,et al.  Spatial and temporal variations in airborne particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) across Spain 1999–2005 , 2008 .

[19]  X. Querol,et al.  A combined analysis of backward trajectories and aerosol chemistry to characterise long-range transport episodes of particulate matter: the Madrid air basin, a case study. , 2008, The Science of the total environment.

[20]  H. Scheifinger,et al.  Validation of trajectory statistical methods , 2007 .

[21]  P. Jones,et al.  Long-Term Variability of Daily North Atlantic–European Pressure Patterns since 1850 Classified by Simulated Annealing Clustering , 2007 .

[22]  N. Pérez,et al.  A methodology for the quantification of the net African dust load in air quality monitoring networks , 2007 .

[23]  S. Beevers,et al.  Modelling and assessing trends in traffic-related emissions using a generalised additive modelling approach , 2007 .

[24]  X. Querol,et al.  Origin of the exceedances of the European daily PM limit value in regional background areas of Spain , 2007 .

[25]  X. Querol,et al.  Geochemical variations in aeolian mineral particles from the Sahara-Sahel Dust Corridor. , 2006, Chemosphere.

[26]  Mihalis Vrekoussis,et al.  Origin and variability of particulate matter (PM10) mass concentrations over the Eastern Mediterranean , 2006 .

[27]  Mar Viana,et al.  Wet and dry African dust episodes over eastern Spain , 2005 .

[28]  X. Querol,et al.  Levels of particulate matter in rural, urban and industrial sites in Spain. , 2004, The Science of the total environment.

[29]  P. Hopke,et al.  Identification of source locations for atmospheric dry deposition of heavy metals during yellow-sand events in Seoul, Korea in 1998 using hybrid receptor models , 2004 .

[30]  Peter J. Lamb,et al.  African Droughts and Dust Transport to the Caribbean: Climate Change Implications , 2003, Science.

[31]  M. Viana,et al.  PM levels in the Basque Country (Northern Spain): analysis of a 5-year data record and interpretation of seasonal variations , 2003 .

[32]  W. Maenhaut,et al.  Application and comparison of two statistical trajectory techniques for identification of source regions of atmospheric aerosol species , 2002 .

[33]  Mar Viana,et al.  Influence of African dust on the levels of atmospheric particulates in the Canary Islands air quality network , 2002 .

[34]  O. Torres,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF GLOBAL SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERIC SOIL DUST IDENTIFIED WITH THE NIMBUS 7 TOTAL OZONE MAPPING SPECTROMETER (TOMS) ABSORBING AEROSOL PRODUCT , 2002 .

[35]  M. Chin,et al.  Sources and distributions of dust aerosols simulated with the GOCART model , 2001 .

[36]  G. Kallos,et al.  Saharan dust contributions to PM10 and TSP levels in Southern and Eastern Spain , 2001 .

[37]  G. Wotawa,et al.  Testing the ability of trajectory statistics to reproduce emission inventories of air pollutants in cases of negligible measurement and transport errors , 1999 .

[38]  J. Prospero.  Long‐term measurements of the transport of African mineral dust to the southeastern United States: Implications for regional air quality , 1999 .

[39]  A. Genovés,et al.  A classification of the atmospheric circulation patterns producing significant daily rainfall in the Spanish Mediterranean area , 1999 .

[40]  V. Masson,et al.  Satellite climatology of African dust transport in the Mediterranean atmosphere , 1998 .

[41]  Angel Lopez-Soler,et al.  Seasonal evolution of suspended particles around a large coal-fired power station: particulate levels and sources , 1998 .

[42]  A. Stohl.  Computation, accuracy and applications of trajectories—A review and bibliography , 1998 .

[43]  Philippe Bousquet,et al.  Origins of African dust transported over the northeastern tropical Atlantic , 1997 .

[44]  François Dulac,et al.  Control of atmospheric export of dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation , 1997, Nature.

[45]  John W. Kidson,et al.  THE UTILITY OF SURFACE AND UPPER AIR DATA IN SYNOPTIC CLIMATOLOGICAL SPECIFICATION OF SURFACE CLIMATIC VARIABLES , 1997 .

[46]  Radan Huth,et al.  AN INTERCOMPARISON OF COMPUTER‐ASSISTED CIRCULATION CLASSIFICATION METHODS , 1996 .

[47]  Andreas Stohl,et al.  Trajectory statistics-A new method to establish source-receptor relationships of air pollutants and its application to the transport of particulate sulfate in Europe , 1996 .

[48]  J. Hurrell.  Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation , 1995, Science.

[49]  R. Vautard,et al.  Weather Regimes: Recurrence and Quasi Stationarity , 1995 .

[50]  Michael B. Richman,et al.  On the Application of Cluster Analysis to Growing Season Precipitation Data in North America East of the Rockies , 1995 .

[51]  Trevor D. Davies,et al.  Cluster analysis: A technique for estimating the synoptic meteorological controls on air and precipitation chemistry—Method and applications , 1992 .

[52]  R. Hirsch,et al.  Techniques of trend analysis for monthly water quality data , 1982 .

[53]  J. Prospero,et al.  Atmospheric transport of soil dust from Africa to South America , 1981, Nature.

[54]  Karl Ropkins,et al.  openair - An R package for air quality data analysis , 2012, Environ. Model. Softw..

[55]  F. Camacho,et al.  Fungal microbiota from rain water and pathogenicity of Fusarium species isolated from atmospheric dust and rainfall dust , 2010, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.

[56]  X. Querol,et al.  Characterisation of local and external contributions of atmospheric particulate matter at a background coastal site , 2007 .

[57]  Xavier Querol,et al.  Identification and characterisation of sources of PM10 in Madrid (Spain) by statistical methods , 2004 .

[58]  X. Querol,et al.  Assessment of airborne particulate levels in Spain in relation to the new EU-directive , 2001 .

[59]  A. Vinogradova.  Anthropogenic pollutants in the Russian Arctic atmosphere: sources and sinks in spring and summer , 2000 .

[60]  Philip K. Hopke,et al.  A study of the sources of acid precipitation in Ontario, Canada , 1989 .