Saharan dust contribution to PM10 measurements

The daily mass concentrations of PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamicdiameter less than 10 ?m) and its content in eight trace elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni,Pb and Zn) were measured at the Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale of theNational Research Council of Italy (IMAA-CNR, Tito Scalo - Southern Italy) fromMarch to July 2001. The Saharan dust contribution to PM10 measurements was evaluatedby combining model outcomes, satellite observations and PM10 and trace elementconcentration statistical analyses. During the study period, nine Saharan dust events (26days in all) were identified over the IMAA-CNR site. By analyzing the trend of the PM10daily concentrations, these were found to be characterized by an increasing pattern duringthe Saharan dust events identified. Moreover, eight out of nine PM10 exceedances of thelimit value established by the regulation in force were observed during the days affectedby Saharan dust transport and one PM10 exceedance was measured on the day followinga strong Saharan dust event. The application of the Enrichment Factor (EF) method,Cluster Analysis (CA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the PM10 dataallowed us to identify the PM10 sources during the dust and non-dust days as well as theevaluation of the impact of the Saharan dust transport on the PM10 measurements. © 2012 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.