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| Titel |
Elemental characterization of Aeolian aerosol from Cape Verde by INAA and PIXE |
| VerfasserIn |
Marina Almeida-Silva, Susana Marta Almeida, Miguel Reis, Paula Cristina Chaves, Ana Taborda, Maria do Carmo Freitas, Casimiro Adriano Pio, Teresa Nunes, João Cardoso |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2013
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 15 (2013) |
| Datensatznummer |
250083018
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Sahara Desert is the most important source of mineral dust, contributing more than 1900
million tons per year and responsible for almost half of all the Aeolian material provided to
the world’s oceans. This study was carried out in Santiago’s island, the largest island of Cape
Verde Archipelago because its localization is directly on the route of Saharan dust transport to
the Atlantic Ocean, thus an ideal place to quantify and characterize the African aeolian
aerosol. The objective of this study was to (1) conduct an elemental characterization of
airborne particles sampled in Cape Verde and (2) assess the influence of Sahara desert on
local suspended particles by using the Hysplit model and ratios between elements. Particulate
matter (PM10) was collected in Praia city (14º94’N; 23º49’W) with a low volume
sampler in order to characterize its element composition by k0-INAA and PIXE.
Results showed that PM10 concentrations in Cape Verde markedly exceeded the
health-based air quality standards defined by EU, WHO and EPA in part due to
the influence of Sahara dust transport. The PM10 composition was characterized
essentially by high concentrations of elements originating from the soil (Ca, Fe
and Si) and sea (Cl and Na); and low concentrations of anthropogenic elements
(As, Ni, V, Sb and Zn). The analysis of backward trajectories and cluster analysis
showed that Saharan transport events resulted in significantly higher concentrations
of mineral aerosol, due to 39% of all backward trajectories come from African. |
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