Ambient carbonaceous aerosol levels in Cyprus and the role of pollution transport from the Middle East

• Published in: Atmospheric chemistry and physics Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 6431 - 6456
• Main Authors: Christodoulou, Aliki, Stavroulas, Iasonas, Vrekoussis, Mihalis, Desservettaz, Maximillien, Pikridas, Michael, Bimenyimana, Elie, Kushta, Jonilda, Ivancic, Matic, Rigler, Martin, Goloub, Philippe, Oikonomou, Konstantina, Sarda-Estève, Roland, Savvides, Chrysanthos, Afif, Charbel, Mihalopoulos, Nikos, Sauvage, Stéphane, Sciare, Jean
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 12-06-2023; European Geosciences Union; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Aerosol concentrations; Aerosols; Air masses; Air pollution; Black carbon; Carbon; Chemical properties; Chemical speciation; Chemicophysical properties; Cities; Climate change; Cold; Emissions; Environmental aspects; Environmental conditions; Fossil fuels; Fuel combustion; Hydrocarbons; Ocean, Atmosphere; Outdoor air quality; Ozone; Photochemicals; Photochemistry; Pollution; Pollution dispersion; Pollution transport; Population growth; Regression analysis; Regression models; Sciences of the Universe; Seasons; Secondary aerosols; Speciation; Sulfates; Time measurement; Trends; Urban areas; Middle East; Cyprus; Europe; Africa
• ISSN: 1680-7324; 1680-7316; 1680-7324
• DOI: 10.5194/acp-23-6431-2023

The geographical origin and source apportionment of submicron carbonaceous aerosols (organic aerosols, OAs, and black carbon, BC) have been investigated here for the first time, deploying high time-resolution measurements at an urban background site of Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean. This study covers a half-year period, encompassing both the cold and warm periods with continuous observations of the physical and chemical properties of PM.sub.1 performed with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM), an aethalometer, accompanied by a suite of various ancillary offline and online measurements. Carbonaceous aerosols were dominant during both seasons (cold and warm periods), with a contribution of 57 % and 48 % to PM.sub.1, respectively, and exhibited recurrent intense nighttime peaks ( 20-30 µg m.sup.-3) during the cold period, associated with local domestic heating. The findings of this study show that high concentrations of sulfate (close to 3 µg m.sup.-3) were continuously recorded, standing among the highest ever reported for Europe and originating from the Middle East region.