title: Geochemical behaviour of PM10 aerosol constituents under the influence of succeeding anticyclonic/cyclonic situations: case of Sfax City, southern Tunisia.
abstract: The present study investigates the geochemical behaviour of PM10 aerosol constituents (Cl, Na, Si, Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Zn, S) at Sfax City (Tunisia) under succeeding meteorological conditions, including short-lived anticyclonic, cyclonic and prolonged anticyclonic situations. The results revealed daily total concentrations fluctuating between 4.07 and 88.51 μg/m(3). The highest level recorded was noted to occur under the effect of the short-lived anticyclonic situation characterized by low wind speeds. It was 1.5 times higher than those recorded during cyclonic and long-lived anticyclonic situations characterized by moderate to high wind speeds. During the cyclonic situation, the marked increase of (Na and Cl) concentrations is associated with relatively high sea wind speeds (6 to 9 m/s), which are in turn responsible for a slight increase of crustal elements such as Al, Ca, Si, Fe and Mg, by the entrainment in the air of dust from roads and undeveloped areas. During the two anticyclonic situations, the simultaneous increase (due to communal transport) of crustal (Ca, Si, Al, Fe, Mg) and man-made (Mn, S, Pb, Zn) elements was noted to be associated with the dominance of terrigenious wind flows with speeds varying between 1.5 and 4 m/s. However, the significant contribution rates observed for Cl under the prevalence of such winds as compared to other crustal elements such as Fe suggested the influence of the sebkhas of Southern Tunisia.
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche, Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Moez
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahloul
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche, Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Iness
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chabbi
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche, Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Rim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dammak
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche, Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Ridha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amdouni
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche, Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Medhioub
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche, Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisie. chafaiazri@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Chafai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Azri
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D002713:Chlorine / Q000032:analysis; D002947:Cities; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005843:Geography; D005844:Geology / Q000379:methods; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D014416:Tunisia; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D008670:Metals; D002713:Chlorine
keywords: Anticyclonic/cyclonic situations; Chemometric approaches; PM10 aerosol; Sfax