The 40k used as tracer of Saharan dust contributions.

Abstract

The present study is carried out in Málaga, frequently affected by intrusions of air masses with high concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter. 40K is a natural radionuclide and has been associated with the arrival of coarse re-suspended material from the Africa continent. A systematic 13-year analysis (January 2005-December 2017) of the concentration of radionuclides in bulk (wet + dry) deposition and PM10 air concentrations has been performed to test the possible utility of 40K as tracer of African mineral dust inputs in Málaga (4° 28ʹ 8ʺ W ;36° 43ʹ 40ʺ N). Also the atmospheric aerosols are collected using a high volume sampler during 9-year (January 2009-December 2017). It is a prerequisite to know the environmental long-term behaviour of radionuclides an a relatively large number of values are required for statistically meaningful conclusions . The identification of African dust events was carried by 96-hour back-trajectory analysis arriving at thee different heights (500 m, 1500m, 3000m a.g.l.) calculate with the HYSPLIT model , and by the information obtained from the output of the dust regional Atmospheric model (DREAM 8b).