The influence of meteorological conditions and long-range air mass transport on the winter near-surface aerosol composition in Moscow
A.A. Vinogradova, D.P. Gubanova, M.A. Iordanskii, A.I. Skorokhod
A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Keywords: surface aerosol, mass concentration, elemental composition, meteorological conditions, long-range transport, air mass, winter, Moscow
Abstract
The results of the complex study of the composition and temporal variability of urban aerosol in near-surface air in the center of Moscow during two winter seasons (2019/2020 and 2020/2021) are discussed. Daily data on PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations and the total aerosol mass concentration (by gravimetric method) and 65 chemical elements included in its composition measured for 35-40 days every season are considered. The aerosol composition is compared with the meteorological parameters in near surface air in Moscow, the direction of long-range air mass transport to the Moscow region, and the distribution of dust in near-surface air over the European Russia (according to the MERRA-2 reanalysis). The detailed study of the aerosol elemental composition in Moscow allowed us to identify the elements of global/local distribution and of natural/anthropogenic genesis. Concentrations of all aerosol components under study in Moscow in winter did not exceed the corresponding daily average MPC values for the air of residential areas. It is shown that PM10 and PM2.5 are accumulated in the near-surface air of the city in calm conditions. The maximal levels of aerosol pollution were observed in the first part of December 2020 with south-easterly winds, when long-range atmospheric transport of impurities to Moscow took place from sources located in the arid south zones of European Russia, in the Caspian Lowland and in western Kazakhstan.
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