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For the identification of regional springtime ozone episodes, rural European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) ozone measurements from countries surrounding the western Mediterranean (Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Malta) have been examined with emphasis on periods of high ozone-mixing ratios, according to the variation of the daily afternoon (12:00–18:00) ozone values. For two selected high ozone episodes in April and May 2008, composite NCEP/NCAR reanalysis maps of various meteorological parameters and/or their anomalies (geopotential height, specific humidity, vertical wind velocity omega, vector wind speed and temperature) at various tropospheric pressure levels have been examined together with the corresponding satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) ozone measurements (at 3 and 10 km), CHIMERE simulations, vertical ozone soundings and HYSPLIT back trajectories. The observations show that high ozone values are detected in several countries simultaneously over several days. Also, the examined spring ozone episodes over the western Mediterranean and in central Europe are linked to synoptic meteorological conditions very similar to those recently observed in summertime ozone episodes over the eastern Mediterranean (Kalabokas et al., 2013, 2015; Doche et al., 2014), where the transport of tropospheric ozone-rich air masses through atmospheric subsidence significantly influences the boundary layer and surface ozone-mixing ratios. In particular, the geographic areas with observed tropospheric subsidence seem to be the transition regions between high-pressure and low-pressure systems. During the surface ozone episodes IASI satellite measurements show extended areas of high ozone in the lower- and upper-troposphere over the low-pressure system areas, adjacent to the anticyclones, which influence significantly the boundary layer and surface ozone-mixing ratios within the anticyclones by subsidence and advection in addition to the photochemically produced ozone there, resulting in exceedances of the 60 ppb standard.

In the first part, this work reports that during the global “anthropopause” period, that was imposed in March and April 2020 for limiting the spread of COVID-19, the concentrations of basic air pollutants over Europe were reduced by up to 70%. During May and June, the gradual lift of the stringent measures resulted in the recovery of these reductions with pollution concentrations approaching the levels before the lockdown by the end of June 2020. In the second part, this work examines the alleged correlations between the reported cases of COVID-19 and temperature, humidity and particulate matter for March and April 2020 in Europe. It was found that decreasing temperatures and relative humidity with increasing concentrations of particulate matter are correlated with an increase in the number of reported cases during these 2 months. However, when these calculations were repeated for May and June, we found a remarkable drop in the significance of the correlations which leads us to question the generally accepted inverse relation between pandemics and air temperature at least during the warmer months. Such a relationship could not be supported in our study for SARS-CoV-2 virus and the question remains open. In the third and last part of this work, we examine the question referring to the origin of pandemics. In this context we have examined the hypothesis that the observed climate warming in Siberia and the Arctic and the thawing of permafrost could result to the release of trapped in the permafrost pathogens in the atmosphere. We find that although such relations cannot be directly justified, they present a possible horrifying mechanism for the origin of viruses in the future during the developing global warming of our planet in the decades to come. Overall the findings of our study indicate that: (1) the reduction of anthropogenic emissions in Europe during the “anthropopause” period of March and April 2020 was significant, but when the lockdown measures were raised the concentrations of atmospheric pollutants quickly recovered to pre-pandemic levels and therefore any possible climatic feedbacks were negligible; (2) no robust relationship between atmospheric parameters and the spread of COVID-19 cases can be justified in the warmer part of the year and (3) more research needs to be done regarding the possible links between climate change and the release of new pathogens from thawing of permafrost areas.

In continuation of previous research for evaluation of the high ozone levels observed during summer time over the eastern Mediterranean, MOZAIC profiles collected at the airport of Cairo from 1994 to 2008 are analysed. Average profiles corresponding, respectively, to the highest and the lowest ozone mixing ratios for the 0-1.5 km layer over Cairo in summer (JJA) (94 profiles) are examined along with their corresponding composite maps of geopotential height (and anomalies), vertical velocity (and anomalies), specific humidity anomalies, precipitable water anomalies, air temperature anomalies and wind speed at 850 hPa. In addition, backward trajectories arriving in the boundary layer over Cairo during the days with highest or lowest ozone mixing ratios are examined. During the 7% highest ozone days at the 0-1500 m layer over Cairo, very high ozone concentrations of about 80 ppb on average are observed from the surface up to 4-5 km altitude. The difference in ozone concentrations between the 7% highest and the 7% lowest ozone days reaches maximum values around 60 ppb close to the ground. During the highest ozone days for both 1.5-5 and 0-1.5 km layer, there are extended regions of strong subsidence in the eastern Mediterranean but also in eastern and northern Europe and over these regions the atmosphere is dryer than average. In addition, characteristic profiles with the highest ozone concentrations in the 0-1500 m layer are examined in order to assess the influence of atmospheric transport and photochemistry on the ozone concentrations over the area.

This study examined the impact of shipping emissions on the atmospheric composition and oxidation capacity in the Eastern Mediterranean, focusing on Greece and the Piraeus port. The analysis used CAMx air quality modeling (simulations for January and July 2019), Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor modeling, and ship emission inventories from CAMS-REGv6.1 and the “Flexible Emission Inventory for Greece and the Greater Athens Area” (FEI-GREGAA). Zeroing out shipping emissions within Greek maritime waters resulted in substantial reductions in monthly concentrations of pollutants in major Aegean Sea shipping corridors, becoming largest in the Piraeus port. PMF and CAMx estimations for the net shipping contribution to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) in the Piraeus passenger port area showed good correlations. However, CAMx average estimates were higher compared to PMF (1.1 µg m − ³ (4.9%) by CAMx and 0.6 µg m − ³ (2.7%) by PMF for January 2019; 2.7 µg m − ³ (20.9%) by CAMx and 1.7 µg m − ³ (11.2%) by PMF for July 2019), partly due to higher CAMx-simulated shipping impact on elemental carbon (EC). More refined ship emission inventories and air quality modeling, optimized chemical speciation of ship emissions, and more experimental data are necessary, while considering also the changing regulations on ship fuels and their future climate implications.

The influence of tropospheric ozone on the surface ozone concentrations is investigated at the monitoring station of JRC Ispra, based on 10 years of measurements (2006–2015) of surface ozone data. In situ hourly measurements of ozone and other air pollutants, meteorological parameters, and weekly averaged 7Be (as an indicator of upper-tropospheric–stratospheric influence) and 210Pb measurements (as an indicator of boundary layer influence) have been used for the analysis. In addition, IASI + GOME-2 and IASI ozone satellite data have also been used. It is observed that frequently 7Be and ozone weekly peaks coincide, which might be explained by the impact of deep atmospheric subsidence on surface ozone, particularly during late spring and early summer. Based on this observation, a detailed analysis of selected 7Be and ozone episodes occurring during that period of the year has been performed in order to further elucidate the mechanisms of tropospheric influence on the surface pollutant concentrations. For the analysis, composite NOAA/ESRL reanalysis synoptic meteorological charts in the troposphere have been used as well as IASI satellite ozone measurements and NOAA HYSPLIT back trajectories. The JRC station hourly measurements during subsidence episodes show very low values of local pollution parameters (e.g., NOx, 222Rn, nephelometer data, PM10), close to zero. Conversely, during these periods ozone levels usually reach values around 45–60 ppb during the afternoon hours but also show significantly higher values than the average during the night and morning hours, which is a sign of direct tropospheric influence on the surface ozone concentrations.

Air quality simulations were performed for Athens (Greece) in ~1 km resolution applying the models WRF-CAMx for July and December 2019 with the secondary organic aerosol processor (SOAP) and volatility basis set (VBS) organic aerosol (OA) schemes. CAMx results were evaluated against particulate matter (PM) and OA concentrations from the regulatory monitoring network and research monitoring sites (including PM2.5 low-cost sensors). The repartition of primary OA (POA) and secondary OA (SOA) by CAMx was compared with positive matrix factorization (PMF)-resolved OA components based on aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) measurements. In July, OA concentrations underestimation was decreased by up to 24% with VBS. In December, VBS introduced small negative biases or resulted in more pronounced (but moderate) underestimations of OA with respect to SOAP. CAMx performance for POA was much better than for SOA, while VBS decreased the overestimation of POA and the underestimation of SOA in both study periods. Despite the SOA concentrations increases by VBS, CAMx still considerably underestimated SOA (e.g., by 65% in July). Better representation of simulated OA concentrations in Athens could benefit by accounting for the missing cooking emissions, by improvements in the biomass burning emissions, or by detailed integration of processes related to OA chemical aging.

The Mediterranean, and particularly its Eastern basin, is a crossroad of air masses advected from Europe, Asia and Africa. Anthropogenic emissions from its megacities meet over the Eastern Mediterranean, with natural emissions from the Saharan and Middle East deserts, smoke from frequent forest fires, background marine and pollen particles emitted from ocean and vegetation, respectively. This mixture of natural aerosols and gaseous precursors (Short-Lived Climate Forcers—SLCFs in IPCC has short atmospheric residence times but strongly affects radiation and cloud formation, contributing the largest uncertainty to estimates and interpretations of the changing cloud and precipitation patterns across the basin. The SLCFs’ global forcing is comparable in magnitude to that of the long-lived greenhouse gases; however, the local forcing by SLCFs can far exceed those of the long-lived gases, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Monitoring the spatiotemporal distribution of SLCFs using remote sensing techniques is important for understanding their properties along with aging processes and impacts on radiation, clouds, weather and climate. This article reviews the current state of scientific know-how on the properties and trends of SLCFs in the Eastern Mediterranean along with their regional interactions and impacts, depicted by ground- and space-based remote sensing techniques.

High ozone levels at the Earth’s surface are known to be harmful to human health as well as vegetation, and the tropospheric ozone also plays an important role in global climate change. Its sources and sinks are, therefore, important to understand. During a 10-year timeframe (2006–2015), entrainment of ozone into the boundary layer was investigated at a regional measuring station in Northern Italy (EMEP/GAW-station, JRC-Ispra, 45.807°N/8.631°E, 223 m above-sea-level), using the in situ measurements of air-pollutants, including ozone, meteorological parameters and weekly averaged 7Be and 210Pb activities. The ratio 7Be/210Pb was used as an indicator of the contribution of transport from the stratosphere/upper-troposphere to the composition of the air-masses at surface-level. Diurnal variations in ozone, humidity and 222Rn concentrations were used to detect episodes with entrainment of air from the free-troposphere into the boundary layer. Daytime ozone showed a positive correlation to the ratio 7Be/210Pb for all years, but with large variations in the correlation coefficient between the years, indicating that the importance of transport from stratosphere/upper-troposphere has large variations from year to year. 7Be/210Pb had in this investigation a mono-modal log-normal distribution. Lee et al. (Analyses and comparisons of variations of 7Be, 210Pb and 7Be/210Pb with ozone observations at two Global Atmospheric Watch stations from high mountains. J Geophys Res, 2007) found a bimodal log-normal distribution at two high-altitude sites, where the second mode was attributed to episodes of stratospheric-intrusion. Thus, it appears that we do not see, at the low altitude JRC-Ispra station, such clear-cut episodes dominated by stratospheric-intrusions, but a combination of ozone from in situ boundary layer photochemistry, tropospheric transport and stratospheric contributions. This conclusion is confirmed by looking at variations of the parameters O3, humidity and 222Rn, combined with back-trajectories.