The entrainment of particulate material into the atmosphere by wind action on surface soils
both disturbed and natural, as well as directly due to human activities like agricultural
practices, mineral industry operations, construction works and traffic, is a significant
contribution to the aerosol load in Mediterranean semi-arid areas. A further crustal
contribution in the region comes from the frequent arrival of African mineral dust plumes.
We summarize some of the results obtained after 4-6 -month campaigns at three rural sites
in SE Spain where the aerosol number size distribution (31 size bins between 0.25 and 32
μm) was continuously measured. The influence of both local wind speed and the arrival of air
masses loaded with African dust on the airborne particulate distribution is assessed.
Similarities and differences between the three locations give information that allows a better
understanding of the influence of both local wind speed and African dust outbreaks (ADO),
while highlight what is mostly related to local features