Atlas of airborne particles from Kozani area, Northern Greece

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Published: Jan 1, 2007
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/bgsg.16978
Keywords:
SEM/EDX air pollution source identification geogenie anthropogenic
A. Iordanidis
Department of Geotechnology and Environmental Engineering, TEI of Western Macedonia
J. Buckman
Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University
A. G. Triantafyllou
Department of Geotechnology and Environmental Engineering, TEI of Western Macedonia
A. Asvesta
Department of Geotechnology and Environmental Engineering, TEI of Western Macedonia
Abstract

During a whole year (March 2003 to February 2004), several filters that capture airborne particles were collected from seven sampling sites spread throughout the Ptolemais-Kozani region (Western Macedonia), northern Greece. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM), coupled with Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDX) was employed for the characterisation of the airborne particles. A classification of these airborne particles is attempted in this study. Aerosols with various morphological characteristics (angular, irregular, rounded, spherical, spheroidal, acicular), variable size (mostly between 5ßm and 20pm) and composition (aluminosilicates, oxides, carbonates, sulphates, metallic) were recognized. The airborne particulates were also categorized according to their origin. Geogenie, biogenic, anthropogenic (mainly fly ash released from lignite-fired power plants), carbonaceous and metalliferous (mainly iron and copper enriched) were the main categories. A database of characteristic airborne particles from Kozani area is being created using a simple software package, in order to help similar studies in the future.

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  • Natural Environment and Anthropogenic Activities
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