Climatology of desert oust transportation over the Atlantic toward Caribbean area

La région Caraïbe est régulièrement survolée par des masses d'air chargées en poussières désertiquesd'origines saharienne et sub-saharienne. Pour quatre îles de l'arc antillais : Porto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique etBarbade; nous avons évalué l'origine de la pollution particulaire et son impact sur la qualité de l'air, en effectuant uneétude statistique des évènements de poussière qui s'appuie sur les réseaux de mesure de qualité de l'air implantés surchacune des îles, sur le réseau international de mesures photométriques AERONET et sur les données deradiosondages réalisés localement. La première étape de notre travail, a visé à définir ce que l'on pouvait qualifier« d'épisode de poussières désertiques» dans notre région en établissant des critères utilisant le jeu de données dontnous disposions. Deuxièmement, nous avons réalisé une étude climatologique des évènements poussiéreux dans laCaraïbe au cours de la dernière décennie (2006-2016). Le troisième axe de la thèse repose sur la caractérisation de lataille des particules afin de mettre en relief les effets du transport à longue distance. Nous avons clôturé notre étudepar la description de la structure verticale de l'atmosphère de la zone tropicale en situation de « brumes de poussièredésertique » afin d'observer les effets thermodynamiques des aérosols minéraux sur la couche atmosphérique. Ladéfinition des évènements de brumes désertique que nous avons adoptée nous a permis de prendre en considérationune grande partie des évènements poussiéreux affectant l'arc antillais, ce qui nous a amené à mieux cerner le cycle detranspon des poussièl'es désertiques au terme d'une étude basée sur onze années de données.The Caribbean region is regularly flown over by desert dust air masses (Saharan Air Layer) corne fromSaharan and sub-Saharan area. For four islands of the West Indies arc: Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique andBarbados; we assessed the origin of polluting particles and their impact on air quality, by performing a statistical andclimatological study of desert dust events. We therefore based on the air quality measurement networks, theinternational AEronet RObotic NETwork (AERONET) photometric measurements installed on each of these islands.And finally, this study builds on sounding data produced locally.The first step in our work was to define and describe an "desert dust episode" in the tropical region. Thus, we studiedthe relationship of correlation between Aerosols Optical Depth (AOD), Angstrom Exponent (AE, characterizing theparticle size) and Particulate Matter 10 microns or Jess in diameter (PM10 data). On the other hand, the radiativeproperties (Single Scattering Albedo, refractive indexes) have been used to highlight sea sait contribution (coarseparticle just as dust particle) that significantly influences PM10 measurement due to the geographical context ofCaribbean islands. Our investigations led us to propose a daily PM 10 threshold at 35 μg m·3 that mainly associatedwith desert dust phenomenon. This latter is more suited for the Lesser Antilles compared to the European PM10threshold related to desert dust events: 50 μg m·3.As a result, a climatological study of dusty events in the Caribbean during the last decade (2006-2016) is carried out.Four dust seasons were identified: the high dust season (May to August), the low dust season (November to February,and two intermediate periods (March to April, September to October). We then examine dust exportation fromAfrican coasts toward the Lesser Antilles (Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe Martinique and Barbados) by mean of backtrajectories[Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) mode\] displaying atmosphericcirculation day-to-day over the Atlantic Ocean.This analysis enabled us to better understand the seasonal cycle of desert dust transportation, specific to each island(Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados); while most of the previous studies treats average data including thewhole Caribbean zone. lt emerges that islands are not affected by dust events similarly, i.e. by intensity of events andits includes some variation in dust periods.Lastly, we describe the vertical structure of the tropical zone atmosphere in situation of "desert dust events" and"Non-desert dust event" to observe the thermodynamic effects of minerai aerosols on the Caribbean atmosphericlayer. This analysis allowed us to consider desert dust aerosols effects on the thermodynamic parameters(Temperature and humidity) during the dry-season (November to April) named "câreme" and the wet season (May toOctober) named "hivernage"

Particle Size Analysis of African Dust Haze over the Last 20 Years: A Focus on the Extreme Event of June 2020

Over the last decades, the impact of mineral dust from African deserts on human health and climate has been of great interest to the scientific community. In this paper, the climatological analysis of dusty events of the past 20 years in the Caribbean area has been performed using a particulate approach. The focus is made on June 2020 extreme event dubbed “Godzilla”. To carry out this study, different types of data were used (ground-based, satellites, model, and soundings) on several sites in the Caribbean islands. First, the magnitude of June 2020 event was clearly highlighted using satellite imagery. During the peak of this event, the value of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μμm (PM10) reached a value 9 times greater than the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization in one day. Thereafter, the PM10, the aerosol optical depth, and the volume particle size distribution analyses exhibited their maximum values for June 2020. We also highlighted the exceptional characteristics of the Saharan air layer in terms of thickness and wind speed for this period. Finally, our results showed that the more the proportion of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μμm (PM2.5) in PM10 increases, the more the influence of sea salt aerosols is significant

The statistical behavior of PM10 events over guadeloupean archipelago: stationarity, modelling and extreme events

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Desert dust over a Caribbean island with North West Atlantic air masses

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COASTAL WEST AFRICAN DUST LEVEL AND CARIBBEAN ISLAND DUST

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Investigation of local correlations between particulate matter ( P M 10 ) and air temperature in the Caribbean basin using Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition

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Quantifying Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of African Dust Detection Threshold for PM10 Concentrations in the Caribbean Area Using Multiscale Decomposition

International audienceDue to African dust, the Caribbean area is known to have one of the highest incidences of asthma on the planet. Consequently, it is crucial to dissociate the impact of local sources from large scale sources in this region. The aim of this study was to estimate the PM 10 detection threshold for dusty events using a statistical approach and a dynamic approach. To carry out this analysis, PM 10 time series from Martinique (MAR), Guadeloupe (GPE) and Puerto-Rico (PR) were used between 2006 and 2016. The statistical analysis highlighted that the distance from the African coast is a key feature for PM 10 concentrations distribution with the highest at MAR (26.52 μg/m 3 ) and the lowest at PR (24.42 μg/m 3 ). The probability density function analysis showed that MAR-GPE-PR distributions converge towards a same point between the first and the second maximum probability value at 28 μg/m 3 . The dynamical analysis with the Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN) and the Improved CEEMDAN (ICEEMDAN) validated the 28 μg/m 3 found with the statistical analysis. The analysis of HYSPLIT back trajectories confirmed this threshold. Thus, our results indicated that 28 μg/m 3 is the PM 10 detection threshold for African dust in the Caribbean basin. It will therefore be a good indicator allowing the competent authorities to take the appropriate decisions to protect vulnerable populations during dusty events

Particle size distribution and PM10 of volcanic ashes in Guadeloupe during the major eruption of Soufrière Hills in February 2010

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Particle size distribution and PM10 of volcanic ashes in Guadeloupe during the major eruption of Soufrière Hills in February 2010

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