Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements
Abstract Intrusions of Saharan dust (SD) in the atmosphere over Sofia City, Bulgaria, are not a rare phenomenon. Since it can significantly affect the Earth’s radiative balance, various atmospheric processes, the climate and the living conditions on the land and in the ocean, as well as the air qual...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230304 |
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| author | Tsvetina Evgenieva Elena Vakareeva Ljuan Gurdev Tanja Dreischuh |
| author_facet | Tsvetina Evgenieva Elena Vakareeva Ljuan Gurdev Tanja Dreischuh |
| author_sort | Tsvetina Evgenieva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Intrusions of Saharan dust (SD) in the atmosphere over Sofia City, Bulgaria, are not a rare phenomenon. Since it can significantly affect the Earth’s radiative balance, various atmospheric processes, the climate and the living conditions on the land and in the ocean, as well as the air quality, it has been the subject of large-scale studies of considerable societal and scientific interest. In the present work, results were analyzed of: concurrent measurements of near-ground aerosol PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations and the aerosol’s optical and microphysical characteristics as obtained by an AERONET Cimel CE318–TS9 sun/sky/lunar photometer, the MONARCH Saharan-dust forecasting model and the HYSPLIT air-mass back-trajectory-recovering model. Data on the weather conditions in Sofia Valley and the fires in Bulgaria and neighboring countries were also considered. It was shown that the strong increases in the daily-mean PM10 mass concentration (> 50 µg m–3 or > 70 µg m–3) measured by a mountain ecological station are most frequently (74% and 86% of the cases, respectively) indications of relatively intense SD passages over the station. It was shown as well that during very intense Saharan dust intrusions over the region of Sofia (with dust load > 0.15–0.20 g m–2), the urban PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations noticeably increased, while the PM2.5/PM10 mass concentration ratio dropped down as a rule to values around 0.2 and below. The peculiarities found in the behavior of the particulate PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations contact-measured near the ground would allow one to recognize or confirm intense SD transport over Sofia and Sofia Valley. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eabfc911976a43788e6fac06e08481d8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1680-8584 2071-1409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-eabfc911976a43788e6fac06e08481d82025-02-09T12:23:44ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092024-03-0124612110.4209/aaqr.230304Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration MeasurementsTsvetina Evgenieva0Elena Vakareeva1Ljuan Gurdev2Tanja Dreischuh3Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of SciencesInstitute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of SciencesInstitute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of SciencesInstitute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of SciencesAbstract Intrusions of Saharan dust (SD) in the atmosphere over Sofia City, Bulgaria, are not a rare phenomenon. Since it can significantly affect the Earth’s radiative balance, various atmospheric processes, the climate and the living conditions on the land and in the ocean, as well as the air quality, it has been the subject of large-scale studies of considerable societal and scientific interest. In the present work, results were analyzed of: concurrent measurements of near-ground aerosol PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations and the aerosol’s optical and microphysical characteristics as obtained by an AERONET Cimel CE318–TS9 sun/sky/lunar photometer, the MONARCH Saharan-dust forecasting model and the HYSPLIT air-mass back-trajectory-recovering model. Data on the weather conditions in Sofia Valley and the fires in Bulgaria and neighboring countries were also considered. It was shown that the strong increases in the daily-mean PM10 mass concentration (> 50 µg m–3 or > 70 µg m–3) measured by a mountain ecological station are most frequently (74% and 86% of the cases, respectively) indications of relatively intense SD passages over the station. It was shown as well that during very intense Saharan dust intrusions over the region of Sofia (with dust load > 0.15–0.20 g m–2), the urban PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations noticeably increased, while the PM2.5/PM10 mass concentration ratio dropped down as a rule to values around 0.2 and below. The peculiarities found in the behavior of the particulate PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations contact-measured near the ground would allow one to recognize or confirm intense SD transport over Sofia and Sofia Valley.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230304Atmospheric particulate matter (PM)Atmospheric aerosolsSaharan dust transportIn-situ PM measurementsSun photometer measurements |
| spellingShingle | Tsvetina Evgenieva Elena Vakareeva Ljuan Gurdev Tanja Dreischuh Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements Aerosol and Air Quality Research Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) Atmospheric aerosols Saharan dust transport In-situ PM measurements Sun photometer measurements |
| title | Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements |
| title_full | Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements |
| title_fullStr | Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements |
| title_short | Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements |
| title_sort | identification of saharan dust intrusions over sofia bulgaria using near ground pm10 and pm2 5 mass concentration measurements |
| topic | Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) Atmospheric aerosols Saharan dust transport In-situ PM measurements Sun photometer measurements |
| url | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230304 |
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