Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1 Mean source contributions (%) to the ambient PM mass in urban areas of Greece
(Source: modified table from [
66
])
Secondary
aerosol/
unidentified
Road/
soil dust
Biomass
burning
Marine
aerosol
Site/PM fraction, study
Traffic
Fuel oil
Thessaloniki/TSP, Samara
et al. [
36
]
7-11
4-5
25-33
54-66
Thessaloniki/fine, Manoli
et al. [
23
]
28
38
14
20
Thessaloniki/coarse,
Manoli et al. [
23
]
57
9
26
8
Thessaloniki/PM
10
,
Samara et al. [
37
]
18-22
45-65
10-35
Athens/fine, Karanasiou
et al. [
17
]
20
27
12
15
19
7
Athens/coarse, Karanasiou
et al. [
17
]
54
8
16
22
Rhodes Island/PM
10
,
Argyropoulos et al. [
38
]
10-22
32-41
9-12
3-10
17-20
burning and secondary aerosol. As in most urban areas worldwide, traffic is the
predominant source especially in the fine fraction contributing up to 65% in PM
10
.
Additionally, in all studies there is a significant contribution of road/soil dust
originating mainly from deposited dust arising from brake, tyre and road abrasion,
construction/demolition, and in minor proportion from windblown soil or regional
dust. Nevertheless the contribution of the Sahara dust is not quantified in these
studies but is usually included in the mineral dust factor. Not surprisingly, the effect
of this mineral source is more important in the PM
10
and coarse fractions compared
to fine particles, although the mineral source was also detected in the finer fractions.
Fuel oil combustion during industrial activities has high contribution mainly in
Thessaloniki industrial area. Marine aerosol has higher contribution in fine fraction
(19%) than in coarse particles. For this source Karanasiou et al. [
17
] point out the
influence of shipping emissions in the urban area of Athens. Biomass burning
emissions have rather moderate contribution that does not exceed 15% in fine
aerosol fraction. All studies mention that this source probably includes the
emissions from forest fires that frequently affect the region mainly during dry
periods. Finally as expected, secondary aerosol is also an important source
identified in almost all studies due to the distinctive climatological characteristics
of the region. However its mass contribution varies significantly probably due to the
fact that other sources such as traffic might include a significant proportion of the
secondary aerosol.
These characteristic emissions of the Eastern Mediterranean are further explored
to understand the source categories affecting the region.
