Particulate matter levels in a suburban Mediterranean area: Analysis of a 53-month long experimental campaign

Parallel measurements of ambient particulate matter mass in terms of PM10. PM2.5 and PM2.5-10, conducted during a 53 months long experiment, between 2003 and 2008. The data constituting one of the longest simultaneous comparative data sets for the three PM fractions in Europe, collected at a suburban area of Athens, Aghia Paraskevi. Total means of mass concentrations for PM10, PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 were in the order of 34.8, 18.0 and 23.8 mu g/m(3), respectively. Seasonal variability of PM levels governed by the fact that the specific site is dominated by secondary aerosol emissions with the concentrations presenting a shift to the warm period. During the whole sampling period PM10 were mainly composed of PM2.5 while particles with the bigger diameter proved to be strongly correlated in all the cases. It would be interesting to mention that all the three aerosol fractions did not present any association with the inorganic pollutants. Stagnant conditions as well as the wind direction proved to be key mechanisms for the configuration of the air quality patterns. Saronic Gulf sea-breeze development enhanced the aerosol transportation from the industrialized greater area of Piraeus and the polluted center of the city, to the Northern suburbs. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.