Impact of a sea breeze event on geochemical behavior of aerosols at a Mediterranean coast (Northern Tunisia)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify the impact of a sea-land breeze circulation on the ventilation of air masses over the Mediterranean Tunisian coast (Boukornine area) during the summer period. Our results show the Mediterranean Sea has an important effect on the chemical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols by the advection of particles from the sea to the coastal site. Indeed, the daytime sea breeze as well the nighttime land breeze limit the ventilation of air masses by the redistribution of aerosols. Besides, it was found that higher concentrations of sodium, chlorine and sulfur over the examined area are associated with the sea-land breeze recirculation while the crustal constituents stay practically constant with some fluctuations due to local effect. The contribution of sea-breeze in Boukornine area was more important than those recorded in other sites in Tunisia. This study proves the high influence of topography which increases the effect of sea-breeze.