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On the Long‐Range transport of air pollutants from Europe to Africa
Author(s) -
Kallos G.,
Kotroni V.,
Lagouvardos K.,
Papadopoulos A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/97gl03317
Subject(s) - mediterranean climate , range (aeronautics) , pollutant , environmental science , lagrangian , air quality index , troposphere , climatology , mountain range (options) , geography , physical geography , meteorology , geology , chemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , composite material , physics , archaeology , financial economics , economics , mathematical physics
The general climatic conditions and the physiographic characteristics of the area around the Mediterranean Sea, result in the formation of a flow pattern which is from North to South during all seasons and mainly during summer. This flow transports polluted air masses from southern Europe towards Africa. This transport is being investigated with the combined use of an atmospheric and a Lagrangian dispersion model. Air pollutants released from sources located in southern Europe were found in the entire tropospheric region over North Africa. The time scales for such a transport were found to be four to six days. This kind of transport can have several implications ranging from degradation of the air quality in North African cities to the water budget and regional climatic change.