Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020
<p>This paper concerns an in-depth analysis of an exceptional incursion of mineral dust over southern Europe in late March 2020 (27–30 March 2020). This event was associated with an anomalous circulation pattern leading to several days of PM<span class="inline-formula"><sub&...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/22/4047/2022/acp-22-4047-2022.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818484873789177856 |
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| author | L. Tositti E. Brattich C. Cassardo P. Morozzi A. Bracci A. Marinoni S. Di Sabatino F. Porcù A. Zappi |
| author_facet | L. Tositti E. Brattich C. Cassardo P. Morozzi A. Bracci A. Marinoni S. Di Sabatino F. Porcù A. Zappi |
| author_sort | L. Tositti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>This paper concerns an in-depth analysis of an
exceptional incursion of mineral dust over southern Europe in late March
2020 (27–30 March 2020). This event was associated with an anomalous
circulation pattern leading to several days of PM<span class="inline-formula"><sub>10</sub></span> (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>m) exceedances in
connection with a dust source located in central Asia; this is a rare source of dust for Europe, which is more frequently affected by dust outbreaks from the Sahara
Desert. The synoptic meteorological configuration was analyzed in detail,
and the aerosol evolution during the transit of the dust plume over northern
Italy was assessed at high time resolution by means of optical particle
counting at three stations, namely Bologna, Trieste, and Mt. Cimone,
allowing for the revelation of the transport timing among the three locations.
Back-trajectory analyses supported by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) maps allowed for the location of the mineral dust source area in the Aralkum region. Therefore, the event was analyzed by observing the particle number size distribution with the support of chemical composition analysis. It is shown that the PM<span class="inline-formula"><sub>10</sub></span> exceedance recorded is associated with a large fraction of coarse particles, which is in agreement with mineral dust properties. Both the in situ number size distribution and the vertical distribution of the dust plume were cross-checked using lidar ceilometer and aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from two nearby stations and showed that the dust plume (in contrast to those originating from the Sahara Desert) traveled close to the ground (up to a height of about 2 km). The limited mixing layer height caused by high concentrations of absorbing and scattering aerosols caused the mixing of mineral dust with other locally produced ambient aerosols, thereby potentially increasing its
morbidity effects.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:00:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-47f50d81f7ed4522a68bb4900d12ec55 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:00:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-47f50d81f7ed4522a68bb4900d12ec552022-12-22T01:42:26ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242022-03-01224047407310.5194/acp-22-4047-2022Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020L. Tositti0E. Brattich1C. Cassardo2P. Morozzi3A. Bracci4A. Marinoni5S. Di Sabatino6F. Porcù7A. Zappi8Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Francesco Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Physics “Amedeo Avogadro”, University of Turin, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Francesco Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Francesco Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy<p>This paper concerns an in-depth analysis of an exceptional incursion of mineral dust over southern Europe in late March 2020 (27–30 March 2020). This event was associated with an anomalous circulation pattern leading to several days of PM<span class="inline-formula"><sub>10</sub></span> (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>m) exceedances in connection with a dust source located in central Asia; this is a rare source of dust for Europe, which is more frequently affected by dust outbreaks from the Sahara Desert. The synoptic meteorological configuration was analyzed in detail, and the aerosol evolution during the transit of the dust plume over northern Italy was assessed at high time resolution by means of optical particle counting at three stations, namely Bologna, Trieste, and Mt. Cimone, allowing for the revelation of the transport timing among the three locations. Back-trajectory analyses supported by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) maps allowed for the location of the mineral dust source area in the Aralkum region. Therefore, the event was analyzed by observing the particle number size distribution with the support of chemical composition analysis. It is shown that the PM<span class="inline-formula"><sub>10</sub></span> exceedance recorded is associated with a large fraction of coarse particles, which is in agreement with mineral dust properties. Both the in situ number size distribution and the vertical distribution of the dust plume were cross-checked using lidar ceilometer and aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from two nearby stations and showed that the dust plume (in contrast to those originating from the Sahara Desert) traveled close to the ground (up to a height of about 2 km). The limited mixing layer height caused by high concentrations of absorbing and scattering aerosols caused the mixing of mineral dust with other locally produced ambient aerosols, thereby potentially increasing its morbidity effects.</p>https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/22/4047/2022/acp-22-4047-2022.pdf |
| spellingShingle | L. Tositti E. Brattich C. Cassardo P. Morozzi A. Bracci A. Marinoni S. Di Sabatino F. Porcù A. Zappi Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 |
| title_full | Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 |
| title_fullStr | Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 |
| title_short | Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020 |
| title_sort | development and evolution of an anomalous asian dust event across europe in march 2020 |
| url | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/22/4047/2022/acp-22-4047-2022.pdf |
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