Identification and assessment of intense African dust events and contribution to PM10 concentration in Tunisia

摘要

This study focuses both qualitatively and quantitatively on the assessment of the contribution of the Saharan dust events to the PM10 concentration in three Tunisian sites. We apply a current method following EC guidelines for the demonstration and subtraction of PM10 excess attributable to natural sources under the Directive 2008/50/EC. The maps and back trajectories used in this study have revealed coherence between the African Saharan origins, the dust transport and the intrusion during the intense Saharan dust event of the 16th of November, 2018. Although we have eliminated the Saharan dust contribution which can reach 88% of the measured value, the daily anthropogenic PM10 concentration remained higher compared to the limit value.