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Journal ArticleDOI

Photooxidant dynamics in the Mediterranean basin in summer: Results from European research projects

20 Apr 1997-Journal of Geophysical Research (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)-Vol. 102, pp 8811-8823
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a summary of the documented, as well as the postulated, processes involved in the MECAPIP and RECAPMA projects, and show that stacked layer systems form along the Spanish Mediterranean coasts, 2-3 km deep and more than 300 km wide, with the most recent layers at the top and the older ones near the sea.
Abstract: Most of the Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by mountains 1500 m or higher. Their east and south facing slopes favor the early formation of upslope winds, reinforcing the sea breezes. These slopes also act as orographic chimneys which link the surface winds directly with their return flows aloft, creating recirculations. To characterize the dynamics of pollutants in the Mediterranean basin and to compose a mosaic of the atmospheric circulations involved, the European Commission (EC) supported the following projects: (1) meso-meteorological cycles of air pollution in the Iberian Peninsula (MECAPIP), 1988–1991, intended to document the atmospheric circulations over the Iberian Peninsula; (2) regional cycles of air pollution in the west central Mediterranean area (RECAPMA), 1990–1991, which extended the characterization from the Atlantic coast of Portugal to Italy; and (3) south European cycles of air pollution (SECAP), 1992–1995, for the whole of the basin. The level of interpretation of the data and the elaboration and validation of working hypotheses across the basin have followed, in turn, with the corresponding lags in space and time. The purpose of this paper is to present a summary (to 1995) of the documented, as well as the postulated, processes involved. The MECAPIP and RECAPMA projects have shown that stacked layer systems form along the Spanish Mediterranean coasts, 2–3 km deep and more than 300 km wide, with the most recent layers at the top and the older ones near the sea. These act as a reservoir for aged pollutants to reenter land the next day, and tracer experiments have shown that turnover times are from 2 to 3 days. During the night, part of this system drifts along the coast. Under strong insolation these circulations become “large natural photochemical reactors,” where most of the NOx emissions and other precursors are transformed into oxidants, acidic compounds, aerosols, and O3 (exceeding some EC directives for several months). Finally, the preliminary analysis of the data obtained in the SECAP project supports the hypothesis that pollutants emitted in the Mediterranean basin could be transported toward the Intertropical Convergence Zone, located along northern Africa in summer, and pumped directly into the upper troposphere. If this is verified, the Mediterranean basin could be one place where all the links from the local to the global scales could be identified and documented.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
25 Oct 2002-Science
TL;DR: The Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study, performed in the summer of 2001, uncovered air pollution layers from the surface to an altitude of 15 kilometers, causing air pollution standards to be exceeded throughout the region.
Abstract: The Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study, performed in the summer of 2001, uncovered air pollution layers from the surface to an altitude of 15 kilometers. In the boundary layer, air pollution standards are exceeded throughout the region, caused by West and East European pollution from the north. Aerosol particles also reduce solar radiation penetration to the surface, which can suppress precipitation. In the middle troposphere, Asian and to a lesser extent North American pollution is transported from the west. Additional Asian pollution from the east, transported from the monsoon in the upper troposphere, crosses the Mediterranean tropopause, which pollutes the lower stratosphere at middle latitudes.

844 citations

01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: The Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study as mentioned in this paper uncovered air pollution layers from the surface to an altitude of 15 kilometers, where air pollution standards are exceeded throughout the region, caused by West and East European pollution from the north.
Abstract: The Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study, performed in the summer of 2001, uncovered air pollution layers from the surface to an altitude of 15 kilometers. In the boundary layer, air pollution standards are exceeded throughout the region, caused by West and East European pollution from the north. Aerosol particles also reduce solar radiation penetration to the surface, which can suppress precipitation. In the middle troposphere, Asian and to a lesser extent North American pollution is transported from the west. Additional Asian pollution from the east, transported from the monsoon in the upper troposphere, crosses the Mediterranean tropopause, which pollutes the lower stratosphere at middle latitudes.

792 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The analysis of PM10 and TSP levels recorded in rural areas from Southern and Eastern Spain (1996-1999) shows that most of the peak events are simultaneously recorded at monitoring stations up to 1000 km apart as mentioned in this paper.

505 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, mass-levels of PM 10 measured at regional background sites across the Mediterranean Basin, available from Airbase (European Environmental Agency) and from a few aerosol research sites, are compiled.

361 citations


Cites background from "Photooxidant dynamics in the Medite..."

  • ...Conversely, during summer, in the WMB atmospheric stagnation and recirculation episodes are developed in the WMB, simultaneously with the Etesian dominated scenario in the EMB (Millan et al., 1997; Kallos et al., 2007)....

    [...]

BookDOI
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The volume comprises 25 chapters and is divided into the following 7 parts: Introduction * Stand Structure and Dynamics * Light Harvesting and Gas Exchange * Nutrient Cycling at the Stand Level * Hydrology and Biogeochemistry of Catchments * Responses to Disturbances * Animals in the Forest: Ecology of Two Main Groups as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The volume comprises 25 chapters and is divided into the following 7 parts: Introduction * Stand Structure and Dynamics * Light Harvesting and Gas Exchange * Nutrient Cycling at the Stand Level * Hydrology and Biogeochemistry of Catchments * Responses to Disturbances * Animals in the Forest: Ecology of Two Main GroupsThe complete Table of Contents can be found on the internet.

356 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a range of applications of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), a comprehensive mesoscale meterological modeling system, are discussed, including large eddy simulations (LES) and simulations of thunderstorms, cumulus fields, mesoscales, convective systems, mid-latitude cirrus clouds, winter storms, mechanically and thermally-forced meso-scale systems, and mesoscopic atmospheric disperision.
Abstract: This paper presents a range of applications of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), a comprehensive mesoscale meterological modeling system. Applications discussed in this paper include large eddy simulations (LES) and simulations of thunderstorms, cumulus fields, mesoscale convective systems, mid-latitude cirrus clouds, winter storms, mechanically- and thermally-forced mesoscale systems, and mesoscale atmospheric disperision. A summary of current RAMS options is also presented. Improvements to RAMS currently underway include refinements to the cloud radiation, cloud microphysics, cumulus, and surface soil/vegetative parameterization schemes, the parallelization of the code, development of a more versatile visualization capability, and research into meso-α-scale cumulus parameterization.

1,685 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of more than 22,000 ozone profiles from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment I (SAGE I) and SAGE II between 50 deg N and 50 deg S is used in conjunction with 9 years (1979-1987) of daily global depictions of total ozone from the TOMS instrument aboard Nimbus 7 to investigate the spatial distribution and seasonal cycle of the integrated amount of ozone in the troposphere.
Abstract: An analysis of more than 22,000 ozone profiles from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment I (SAGE I) (1979-1981) and SAGE II (1984-1987) between 50 deg N and 50 deg S is used in conjunction with 9 years (1979-1987) of daily global depictions of total ozone from the TOMS instrument aboard Nimbus 7 to investigate the spatial distribution and seasonal cycle of the integrated amount of ozone in the troposphere. In the tropics, highest concentrations are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean downwind (west) of Africa and maximize during the time when biomass burning is most prevalent, between July and October. A different seasonal cycle in the tropics is also observed over Indonesia, where a relative maximum is present in the March-April time frame, likewise consistent with when biomass burning is most prevalent. At mid-latitudes, highest concentrations are found downwind of Asia and maximize in the summer. Relatively higher amounts of tropospheric ozone are similarly observed downwind of North America and Europe. At mid-latitudes, the ratio between the amount of tropospheric ozone in the Northern Hemisphere and the amount in the Southern Hemisphere is 1.4, in good agreement with in situ measurements.

482 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The MECAPIP project of EC has served to document the summer atmospheric circulations and related air pollution dynamics over Spain and the Western Mediterranean as mentioned in this paper, and experimental evidence indicates that during the day the sea breezes can transport ozone 60 to 100, or more, km inland, during the afternoon, photo-oxidants are injected 3 to 5 km into the mid-troposphere over the Spanish Central plateau, and stratified reservoir layers, stacked up to ≈2-3 km high, build up along the Mediterranean coast.

205 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of the sea-breeze on photochemical pollution in Athens, Greece is analyzed. But the authors focus on two typical days in August 1981 with well-defined sea breeze circulation and conclude that no day-to-day pollution accumulation is noticed.

203 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, tall stack plumes from four sites in Spain have been tracked with COSPEC remote sensors and used as tracers of opportunity of the flow at their level, combining with available historical meteorological data to compose a mosaic of atmospheric circulation patterns for the whole of the Iberian peninsula and surrounding regions.

83 citations

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