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Characterization of PM2.5 chemical composition at the Demokritos suburban station, in Athens Greece. The influence of Saharan dust

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the atmospheric concentrations of selected major and trace elements and ions found in PM2.5, at a suburban site in Athens, Greece, and discuss on the impact of the different sources. Special focus is given to the influence of Saharan dust episodes. The seasonal variability in the metal and ion concentrations is also examined. The results show that PM2.5 mass concentrations are significantly influenced by Saharan dust events; it is observed that when the PM2.5 concentration is higher than 25 μg/m3, five out of six times, the air mass crossed North Africa at an altitude within the boundary layer. Fe is found to be the element with the more significant seasonal variability, displaying much higher concentrations during cold period. The frequent Saharan dust intrusions in the cold period of this dataset may explain this result. Mineral dust and secondary aerosol are the main PM2.5 components (29 and 34%, respectively). During Saharan dust events, the concentration of mineral dust is increased by 35% compared to the days without dust intrusions, while an increase of 68% of the sea salt is also observed. During event days, PM2.5 concentrations are also increased by 14%. Anthropogenic components do not decrease during those days, while sulfate displays even a slight increase, suggesting enrichment of mineral dust with secondary sulfates. The results indicate that African dust intrusions add a rather significant PM pollution load even in the PM2.5 fraction, with implication to population exposure and human health.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Community (LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance) within the framework of the ACEPT-AIR LIFE+ 09 ENV/GR/000289 project and the EnTeC FP7 Capacities program (REGPOT-2012-2013-1, FP7; ID 316173).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection, Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Ag, Paraskevi, Attiki, Greece

    Vasiliki Vasilatou, Evangelia Diapouli & Konstantinos Eleftheriadis

  2. Department of Chemistry, Division III, Environmental Chemistry, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15701, Athens, Greece

    Vasiliki Vasilatou, Dimitrios Abatzoglou, Evangelos B. Bakeas & Michael Scoullos

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  1. Vasiliki Vasilatou
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  2. Evangelia Diapouli
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  3. Dimitrios Abatzoglou
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  4. Evangelos B. Bakeas
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  5. Michael Scoullos
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  6. Konstantinos Eleftheriadis
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Correspondence to Konstantinos Eleftheriadis.

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Vasilatou, V., Diapouli, E., Abatzoglou, D. et al. Characterization of PM2.5 chemical composition at the Demokritos suburban station, in Athens Greece. The influence of Saharan dust. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 11836–11846 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8684-3

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