Airborne desert dust in the Northern Adriatic area (Croatia): Different sources

During the implementation of the INTERREG IT-HR project ECOMOBILITY, whose one of the goals was to estimate the impact of ship emissions on air quality in the port city of Rijeka (Croatia) and Venice (Italy), two particular weekly samples were collected in Rijeka, during the first and the thirteen w...

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Published in:The Science of the total environment 2024-02, Vol.912, p.169320-169320, Article 169320
Main Authors: Alebić-Juretić, Ana, Mifka, Boris, Kuzmić, Josipa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
air quality
Airborne particulates
ammonium
chemical species
Croatia
Desert dust
dust
dust emissions
environment
feldspar
HySplit analysis
Italy
MERRA-2 reanalysis
Northern Adriatic
particulates
potassium
species
Syrian Desert
water solubility
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Summary:During the implementation of the INTERREG IT-HR project ECOMOBILITY, whose one of the goals was to estimate the impact of ship emissions on air quality in the port city of Rijeka (Croatia) and Venice (Italy), two particular weekly samples were collected in Rijeka, during the first and the thirteen weeks of sampling, i.e. S01 (16.10.-23.10.2018) and S13 (24.04.-30.04.2019.), respectively. Both samples have similarities regarding species characteristic for desert dust contribution, but HYSPLIT analyses excluded Saharan desert to be the source of the S01 sample. Unlike Saharan dust, this sample had a high contribution of fine and ultrafine particles (>50 % and 9.8 %, respectively), as well as secondary inorganic (sulfates, ammonium) and organic (water soluble organic compounds - WSOC) aerosols. Detailed synoptic situation and HYSPLIT backward trajectories pointed out the Syrian Desert as the source of this collected sample. The same source was proved by MERRA-2 reanalysis of the desert dust emission. Although the Saharan dust episodes, mostly in precipitation, are well known in the Northern Adriatic area, this is the first time to indicate Syrian Desert as a source of airborne particulates. This assumption was confirmed with chemical species characteristic for the Syrian Desert, i.e. higher content of potassium from K- feldspar and phosphates. NOAA HYSPLIT MODEL, GDAS Meteorological data. [Display omitted] •Desert dust episodes•Chemical characterization of particulate fractions•Meteorological analysis of dust sources (HYSPLIT)•The MERRA-2 reanalysis•Identification of Syrian desert as another desert source
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169320