Search

Browse

• Communities
• Authors
• Year
• Titles
• Subjects

My Space

• Login

The impact of agricultural residue burning on the concentration of particilate matters in a rural area of the Chania region

Chaldaiou Maria-Georgia

Full record

---

Summary

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the impact from burning of agricultural residue on PM10 concentrations in a rural area outside the city of Chania. Measurements took place at Episkopi, Agyia (Chania, Crete). The choice of this location was due to its ideal location, being very close to areas with intense agricultural activity. A Dust Trak II instrument was used for measuring PM10 concentration during a period when agricultural residue burning was allowed. The measurements lasted for a total duration of 36 days and were divided into four sampling periods, which are the following: 24.3.2022-29.3.2022, 2.4.2022-9.4.2022, 10.4.2022-20.4.2022 και 24.4.2022-4.5.2022. The instrument was placed at a location approximately four meters above the ground. Data analysis has shown that during the first sampling period, the maximum value of PM10 was 48.5 μg/m3 and the minimum was 12.5 μg/m3. For the second sampling period, the maximum and minimum PM10 values were 61.6 and 7.7 μg/m3, respectively. In the third sampling period, the maximum value was 44.2 μg/m3, while the minimum was 7.7 μg/m3. Finally, for the fourth sampling period, the highest measured value of PM10 particles was 22.4 μg/m3, and the lowest was 7.3 μg/m3.In parallel, the measurements from Episkopi were compared to PM10 measurements from Akrotiri station which is located inside the campus of the Technical University of Crete. Mass concentrations of PM10 in the Akrotiri station was measured with a Beta attenuation monitor (SHARP 5030i instrument). In the first sampling period, the maximum and minimum values were 86.7 μg/m3 and 15.2 μg/m3, respectively. The second sampling period had values of 533.6 μg/m3 and 5.7 μg/m3, the third had values of 129.9 μg/m3 and 1.6 μg/m3, and the fourth had values of 87.9 μg/m3 and 4.2 μg/m3, respectively. It is worth noting that during the measurement period, Saharan dust events took place, which caused a significant increase in the measured particle concentrations, during the second sampling period at both areas, maximum values of 61.5 μg/m3 were recorded in Episkopi and 533.6 μg/m3 in Akrotiri. Other possible sources that may have influenced the measured concentrations was traffic from nearby streets and the possible use of fireplaces for heating purposes. It was observed that suspended particles in each area individually, were at high levels. However, for the main study area, which was Episkopi, high PM10 values were not frequently observed therefore no significant burden of the environment was revealed. For easier data analysis, it was also considered that a phenomenon of burning agricultural residue could last up to 2.5 hours. Thus, a total of 16 burnings were recorded in Episkopi, most of them occurring in the third sampling period from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. Combustion activities were identified as there were sharp increases in PM10 values on an average of one hour with the largest increase in PM10 reaching a value of 123.5%. In addition, during evening hours there was a rise in concentrations that was not due to burning agricultural residues but due to the boundary layer reduction together with the impact from wind weakening. The comparison between the two study areas indicated that PM10concentrationsvaried independently. For example, in the 2nd sampling they ranged from 5.7 μg/m3 to 533.7 μg/m3, while as far as the corresponding sampling in Episkopi is concerned the values ranged from 7.7 μg/m3 to 61.6 μg/m3. Finally, from the comparison of the meteorological data with PM10, it was found that the measurements on a case-by-case basis show correlation with the meteorological data.In conclusion, the results show a localized increase in PM10 concertation due to burning of agricultural residues. The significant aerosol increases appeared to be more intense during the development of the African dust phenomenon, which was, however, a periodic source of particle increase.

Available Files

Services