Sources and characteristics of the atmospheric aerosol near Damascus,Syria

Coarse (>2 μm) and fine (<2 μm) atmospheric particulate material was collected in the Zabadani Valley, near Damascus, in August 1985, and analyzed for sulfate, nitrate, and about 40 elements. Individual particles were analyzed for chemical and morphological parameters. Particle number concentrations and size distributions were also measured. The physical aerosol characteristics, and particularly the chemical composition indicate that the airborne particles in this arid region are predominantly due to desert soil dispersion, but that there is also some contribution from anthropogenic sources. The crustal elements exhibit atmospheric concentrations which are comparable to those in urban and industrial areas. The anthropogenic elements, on the other hand, are clearly less abundant in the Zabadani Valley than in industrialized regions. The individual particle analysis indicated that there are two major soil dust components with respectively a shale-like and a limestone composition. The data set with the bulk atmospheric concentrations (sum of coarse and fine) was subjected to chemical mass balance receptor modeling in order to assess the impact of the various plausible aerosol sources. It was found that desert soil dispersion is responsible for at least 90% of the total suspended particulate mass concentration, and that the shale and limestone components contribute in about equal proportions.