RT Journal Article
T1 Variability of carbonaceous aerosols in remote, rural, urban and industrial environments in Spain: implications for air quality policy
A1 Querol, X.
A1 Alastuey Urós, José Andrés
A1 Viana, M.
A1 Moreno, T.
A1 Reche, C.
A1 Minguillón, M. C.
A1 Ripoll, A.
A1 Pandolfi, M.
A1 Amato, F.
A1 Karanasiou, A.
A1 Pérez, N.
A1 Pey, J.
A1 Cusack, M.
A1 Vázquez, R.
A1 Plana, F.
A1 Dall’Osto, M.
A1 Rosa Díaz, Jesús de la
A1 Sánchez de la Campa Verdona, Ana María
A1 Fernández Camacho, Rocío
A1 Rodríguez, S.
A1 Pio, C.
A1 Alados-Arboleda, L.
A1 Titos, G.
A1 Artíñano, B.
A1 Salvador, P.
A1 García dos Santos, S.
A1 Fernández Patier, R.
AB We interpret here the variability of levels of carbonaceousaerosols based on a 12 yr database from 78 monitoringstations across Spain specially compiled for this article.Data did not evidence any spatial trends of carbonaceousaerosols across the country. Conversely, results show markeddifferences in average concentrations from the cleanest, mostremote sites (around 1 μgm−3 of non-mineral carbon (nmC),mostly made of organic carbon (OC) with very little elementalcarbon (EC), around 0.1 μgm−3; OC/ EC = 12–15),to the highly polluted major cities (8–10 μgm−3 of nmC; 3–4 μgm−3 of EC; 4–5 μgm−3 of OC; OC/ EC = 1–2). Thus,urban (and very specific industrial) pollution was found tomarkedly increase levels of carbonaceous aerosols in Spain,with much lower impact of biomass burning and of biogenicemissions. Correlations between yearly averaged OC/ ECand EC concentrations adjust very well to a potential equation(OC = 3.37 EC0.326, R2 = 0.8). A similar equation is obtainedwhen including average concentrations obtained atother European sites (OC = 3.60EC0.491, R2 = 0.7).A clear seasonal variability in OC and EC concentrationswas detected. Both OC and EC concentrations were higherduring winter at the traffic and urban sites, but OC increasedduring the warmer months at the rural sites. Hourly equivalentblack carbon (EBC) concentrations at urban sites accuratelydepict road traffic contributions, varying with distancefrom road, traffic volume and density, mixing-layer heightand wind speed. Weekday urban rush-hour EBC peaks aremimicked by concentrations of primary gaseous emissionsfrom road traffic, whereas a single midday peak is characteristicof remote and rural sites. Decreasing annual trendsfor carbonaceous aerosols were observed between 1999 and2011 at a large number of stations, probably reflecting theimpact of the EURO4 and EURO5 standards in reducingthe diesel PM emissions. This has resulted in some cases inan increasing trend for NO2 / (OC + EC) ratios as these standardshave been much less effective for the abatement of NOxexhaust emissions in passenger diesel cars. This study concludesthat EC, EBC, and especially nmC and OC+ EC arevery good candidates for new air quality standards since theycover both emission impact and health-related issue.
PB European Geosciences Union
SN 1680-7316
SN 1680-7324 (electrónico)
YR 2013
FD 2013
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/7386
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/7386
LA eng
NO Querol, X.,  Alastuey Urós, J.A., Viana, M.,  Moreno, T.,  Reche, C.,  Minguillón, M.C., Ripoll, A.,  Pandolfi, M.,  Amato, F.,  Karanasiou, A.,  Pérez, N.,  Pey, J.,  Cusack, M.,  Vázquez, R.,  Plana, F.,  Dall’Osto, M., Rosa Díaz, J. de la, Sánchez de la Campa Verdona,  Fernández Camacho, R.,  Rodríguez, S., Pio, C.,  Alados-Arboledas, L., Titos, G.,  Artiñano, B.,  Salvador, P., García  dos Santos, S.,  Fernández  Patier, R.: "Variability of carbonaceous aerosols in remote, rural, urban and industrial environments in Spain: implications for air quality policy". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Nº 13, págs. 6185–6206 (2013). ISSN 1680-7316. doi:10.5194/acp-13-6185-2013
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 31 may 2026