Regional variation in airborne Alternaria spore concentrations in Denmark through 2012 –2015 seasons: the influence of meteorology and grain harvesting

AbstractHigh airborneAlternaria spore concentrations measured in eastern Denmark have been associated with local agricultural sources. However, the density of agricultural areas is highest in western Denmark. This is the first report of airborneAlternaria spore concentrations obtained with Burkard volumetric spore sampler in western Denmark, Viborg. We compared the concentrations of airborneAlternaria spores and the patterns of air mass transport using HYSPLIT model between Copenhagen and Viborg for the seasons 2012 –2015, with the main focus on the days with daily averageAlternaria spore concentrations ≥ 100 s m−3 (high concentration days). Except for 2012, Annual Spore Integrals (ASIns) were on average 3335  s day m−3 higher in Viborg than in Copenhagen. The high concentration days during 2012 –2015 occurred more frequently and with higher values in Viborg (96 days; mean = 381 s m−3) than in Copenhagen (79  days; mean = 270 s m−3). We found increased shares of trajectories coming from South-East on the high concentration days and increased shares of trajectories coming from the West and North-West on the days with concentrations below 100  s m−3 for both stations. July and August had the highest spore integrals matching the periods of grain harvesting in Denmark. The absence of the concurrent grain harvesting in Denmark was associated with the lowest ASIns in 2012. The results of this study support the hypothesis that local sources cau...
Source: Aerobiologia - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research