Seasonal variability of airborne mold concentrations as related to dust in a coastal urban area in the Eastern Mediterranean
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Tarih
2023
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
Springer Heidelberg
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Özet
Recent studies have demonstrated that the amount of specific airborne mold types and their concentrations increase during dust events. This study investigates the seasonal variation of airborne mold concentrations before, during, and after the dust transport in an eastern Mediterranean coastal area, Izmir city, Turkey. A total of 136 airborne mold samples were collected between September 2020 and May 2021. Two different culture media, namely Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and Malt-Extract Agar (MEA), were used for enumeration and genus-based identification of the airborne mold. In addition to culture media, the influences of air temperature, relative humidity, and particulate matter equal to or less than 10 mu m (PM10) were also investigated seasonally. The HYSPLIT trajectory model and web-based simulation results were mainly used to determine dusty days. The mean total mold concentrations (TMC) on dusty days (543 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/m(3) on PDA and 668 CFU/m(3) on MEA) were approximately 2-2.5 times higher than those on non-dusty days (288 CFU/m(3) on PDA and 254 CFU/m(3) on MEA) for both culture media. TMC levels showed seasonal variations (p<0.001), indicating that meteorological parameters influenced mold concentrations and compositions. Some mold genera, including Cladosporium sp., Chrysosporium sp., Aspergillus sp., Bipolaris sp., Alternaria sp., and yeast, were found higher during dusty days than non-dusty days. Thus, dust event impacts levels and types of airborne molds and has implications for regions where long-range dust transport widely occurs.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
Airborne mold, Dust transport, Eastern Mediterranean, Meteorological parameters, Mold genus, Particulate matter
Kaynak
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
WoS Q Değeri
N/A
Scopus Q Değeri
Q1
