Descripción del proyecto
NORTH AFRICA IS THE LARGEST SOURCE OF SOIL DUST SUSPENDED IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE EARTH. THESE DUST PARTICLES ARE EXPORTED TO LONG DISTANCES IN THE SO-CALLED SAHARAN AIR LAYER AND THIS HAS ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE IMPLICATION ON A SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. THE COMPOSITION OF THE PARTICLES PRESENT IN THE SAHARAN AIR LAYER INFLUENCE ON THE FEATURES OF THESE EFFECTS. THE PROJECT PROPOSED HERE AIMS TO GIVE A RESPONSE TO THESE QUESTIONS:1) HOW DOES THE COMPOSITION OF DUST PARTICLES CHANGES DEPENDING ON THE SOURCE REGION OF DUST?. ARE THERE SPECIFIC SOURCE REGIONS WHERE DUST IS ENRICHED IN KEY COMPOUNDS (E.G. P, FE OR SO4= CONTAINING MINERALS)?2) WHAT HAS BEEN THE VARIABILITY IN DUST COMPOSITION REGISTERED DURING THE LAST TWO AND A HALF DECADES?THE DUST + PARTICULATE POLLUTANT (INTERNAL AND/OR EXTERNAL) MIXING (SULPHATE, NITRATE AND AMMONIUM, AMONG OTHER) TYPICALLY OBSERVED IN THE SAHARAN AIR LAYER IS ALSO A RELEVANT ISSUE.3) WHAT ARE THE SOURCE-REGIONS OF THESE POLLUTANTS TYPICALLY PRESENT IN THE SAHARAN AIR LAYER?4) HOW HAS THE LOAD OF POLLUTANTS PRESENT IN THE SAHARAN AIR LAYER EVOLVED DURING THE LAST TWO AND A HALF DECADES?THE PROJECT IS BASED ON EXPERIMENTAL DATA OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE SAHARAN AIR LAYER PARTICLES REGISTERED AT IZAÑA GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC WATCH OBSERVATORY FROM 1987 UP TO THE DATE. THIS SITE IS LOCATED, AT 2367 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL, IN THE FREE TROPOSPHERE OF THE SUBTROPICAL NORTH ATLANTIC (TENERIFE ISLAND). THE PROJECT IS MOSTLY BASED ON THE INTERPRETATION OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA (1987-2013 TIME SERIES). THE INTERPRETATIONS PERFORMED WILL BE COMPARED WITH RE-ANALYSIS IN MODELS AND A SET OF NEW ANALYSIS IN SELECTED SAMPLES OF DUST. EROSOLES ATMOSFERICOS\NITRATO\SULFATO\QUIMICA HETEROGENEA\MATERIA MINERAL\POLVO SAHARIANO\CLIMA\CALIDAD DEL AIRE