A European aerosol phenomenology - 9: Light absorption properties of carbonaceous aerosol particles across surface Europe.

Carbonaceous aerosols (CA), composed of black carbon (BC) and organic matter (OM), significantly impact the climate. Light absorption properties of CA, particularly of BC and brown carbon (BrC), are crucial due to their contribution to global and regional warming. We present the absorption properties of BC (b) and BrC (b) inferred using Aethalometer data from 44 European sites covering different environments (traffic (TR), urban (UB), suburban (SUB), regional background (RB) and mountain (M)).

Spark Discharge Aerosol-Generated Copper-Based Nanoparticles: Structural & Optical Properties; Application on the Antiviral (SARS-CoV-2) and Antibacterial Improvement of Face Masks.

Nanoparticle formation by Spark Discharge Aerosol Generation offers low-cost fabrication of nanoparticles, without the use of chemicals or vacuum. It produces aerosol particles of a few nanometers in size with high purity. In this work, copper-based -CuO (tenorite) and Cu- nanoparticles are produced, characterized and used to modify face mask air filters, achieving the introduction of antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Source apportionment of the oxidative potential of fine ambient particulate matter (PM) in Athens, Greece.

The main objective of this study was chemical characterization and source apportionment of the oxidative potential of ambient PM samples collected in an urban background area in Athens, Greece. Ambient PM samples were collected during the summer (June-September) of 2017 and winter (February-March) of 2018 at a residential, urban background site in the outlying neighborhood of the Demokritos National Laboratory in Athens, Greece. The collected PM samples were analyzed for their chemical constituents including metals and trace elements, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC), and marker of biomass burning (i.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in background air around the Aegean: implications for phase partitioning and size distribution.

The occurrence and atmospheric behavior of tri- to deca-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were investigated during a 2-week campaign concurrently conducted in July 2012 at four background sites around the Aegean Sea. The study focused on the gas/particle (G/P) partitioning at three sites (Ag. Paraskevi/central Greece/suburban, Finokalia/southern Greece/remote coastal, and Urla/Turkey/rural coastal) and on the size distribution at two sites (Neochorouda/northern Greece/rural inland and Finokalia/southern Greece/remote coastal).

Air and seawater pollution and air-sea gas exchange of persistent toxic substances in the Aegean Sea: spatial trends of PAHs, PCBs, OCPs and PBDEs.

Near-ground air (26 substances) and surface seawater (55 substances) concentrations of persistent toxic substances (PTS) were determined in July 2012 in a coordinated and coherent way around the Aegean Sea based on passive air (10 sites in 5 areas) and water (4 sites in 2 areas) sampling. The direction of air-sea exchange was determined for 18 PTS. Identical samplers were deployed at all sites and were analysed at one laboratory.

The risks of acute exposure to black carbon in Southern Europe: results from the MED-PARTICLES project.

Objectives: While several studies have reported associations of daily exposures to PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 µm) with mortality, few studies have examined the impact of its constituents such as black carbon (BC), which is also a significant contributor to global climate change.

Computational modeling as part of alternative testing strategies in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems: inhaled nanoparticle dose modeling based on representative aerosol measurements and corresponding toxicological analysis.

The objectives of modeling in this work were (a) the integration of two existing numerical models in order to connect external exposure to nanoparticles (NPs) with internal dose through inhalation, and (b) to use computational fluid-particle dynamics (CFPD) to analyze the behavior of NPs in the respiratory and the cardiovascular system. Regarding the first objective, a lung transport and deposition model was combined with a lung clearance/retention model to estimate NPs dose in the different regions of the human respiratory tract and some adjacent tissues. On the other hand, CFPD was used to estimate particle transport and deposition of particles in a physiologically based bifurcation created by the third and fourth lung generations (respiratory system), as well as to predict the fate of super-paramagnetic particles suspended in a liquid under the influence of an external magnetic field (cardiovascular system).

Organic and elemental carbon associated to PM10 and PM 2.5 at urban sites of northern Greece.

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations, associated to PM10 and PM2.5 particle fractions, were concurrently determined during the warm and the cold months of the year (July-September 2011 and February-April 2012, respectively) at two urban sites in the city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, an urban-traffic site (UT) and an urban-background site (UB). Concentrations at the UT site (11.