During August 2010, between days 7 and 11, an intense dust outbreak in the atmospheric column was simultaneously detected at three AERONET stations located in the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula: Évora and Cabo da Roca, in Portugal, and Cáceres, in Spain. The transport of dust from the Sahara region towards the Iberian Peninsula is one regular phenomenon that notably influences the radiation balance as well as the atmospheric visibility at those sites overspread by these aerosols. Optical and microphysical aerosol properties, such as aerosol optical depth, Ångström exponent α, single scattering albedo and size distributions were obtained from CIMEL sun-photometer measurements performed at the three mentioned stations which belong to the AERONET network. This Saharan dust event lasted almost a week and it was analyzed in terms of several optical and microphysical aerosols properties combined with air mass back-trajectories computed by means of the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT_4), as well as with the synoptic conditions responsible for the long-range transport of the dust particles. The measurements show a significant increase in the atmospheric turbidity caused by the input of coarse particles, with daily averages of aerosol optical depth at 870nm about 0.5, daily averages of Ångström exponent α between 0.1 and 0.2, and spectral single scattering albedo increasing in 0.9 at 440nm and in 1.0 at 870nm the last two days of the dust event. All the measured values of these parameters and their variation range are typical for desert dust intrusions.

Trace gases and aerosol particle emissions from several wildfires occurring in Portugal were sampled in summer 2010. Coarse (PM_2.5-10) and fine (PM_2.5) smoke particles were collected. Sampling was performed at 1.5 m above ground, downwind from the burning area, at distances of 10 e 200 m from the flame. Tedlar bags were used for the collection of gas samples in parallel with aerosol sampling. Total volatile hydrocarbons (THC) and carbon oxides (CO₂ and CO) concentrations were determined. PM_2.5 constitutes an important fraction of PM₁₀, with a PM_2.5/PM₁₀ average ratio of 0.91±0.05. A clear predominance of carbonaceous aerosol was observed, with OC concentration always remaining much higher than EC in both size ranges (OC/TC ratios ranged between 0.99 and 0.71 for both sizes). Water-soluble inorganic ions represented less than 4% of the aerosol mass. The CO and CO₂ emission factors (EF) were around 67-383 and 1029-1655 g kg^-1 biomass (dry basis) burned, respectively. The EF ranged between 4 and 68 g kg^-1 for PM_2.5 and between 5 and 72 g kg^-1 (dry basis) for PM₁₀. For THC, EF reached values up to 28 g kg^-1 (dry basis). Levoglucosan was always present at higher concentrations than those of galactosan and mannosan.

This study investigated the characteristics of carbonaceous species in airborne PM10 at two urban areas (downtown and residence), an industry area and a background area of Ulsan, Korea. Daily PM10 samples were collected on quartz fiber filters using high volume air samplers during winter periods. The elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) were analyzed by the thermal-optical transmittance (TOT) method. The concentrations of total carbon (TC), which were calculated as OC + EC, ranged from 1.5 to 9.9 µg/m³ accounting for 7.0-36.1 % of PM₁₀ mass. The average levels of OC and EC at the urban areas were 5.5±2.0 and 1.3±0.5 µg/m³, respectively, which are around 2.5 times higher as compared to those at the background area. The highest concentrations of OC and EC were found at the residential area with an average of 5.5±1.8 and 1.3±0.6 µg/m³, respectively, followed by the downtown and industrial areas. The average OC/EC ratios in the urban, industrial and background areas were 4.1, 6.3 and 4.3, suggesting the presence of secondary organic carbon (SOC). The significant correlations between EC and PM₁₀ concentrations and between EC and OC concentrations were found at the background and urban areas.

PICO-NARE observatory is an experimental site on Pico mountain summit (38,47ºN, 28,40ºW, 2225m altitude) in Pico Island, Azores, Portugal, where air masses from surrounding continents (Africa, Europe, Central North Atlantic and North America) carrying aerosols from anthropogenic and/or natural emissions, pass through. Aerosol composition measurements in Pico on some events of 2005 and backward trajectories of particularly trajectories corresponding to different air masses were processed. Size, morphology, and chemical composition of some individual aerosol particles were determined by FEG-SEM/EDS (Field Emission Gun-Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis). Results on aerosol composition and individual element composition for samples from different air masses give the possibility of inferring transport of aerosol with different characteristic in different air masses origins in the Atlantic Ocean atmosphere. High amounts of aerosol in samples from North Africa with high concentrations of Fe, Zn, Mn, Ca, Al and K suggest the influence of dust from Sahara and Sahel region. Nonetheless, association of S with Mg in some particles could be from volcanic emissions from basaltic magmas locally existing. These last particles also appear on air masses from North America. In this last air masses high concentration of C suggest long-range transported pollution from combustion process. In Europe particles with Fe, Al, Ca, Ti, K, Na and Cl in individual particle analyses indicates a distinct mineral dust influence with marine aerosol enrichment. These air masses have some biological material as pollen. Local air masses rich in particles with Br, Na, K and Cl suggest a predominance of marine aerosol. Some particles with high concentrations of Al could be from local soil contamination. In all air masses particles smaller than 1-3 μm are predominant signifying long-range transport aerosols, as expected.