Abstract. In order to measure the mass flux of atmospheric insoluble deposition and to constrain regional models dust simulation, a network of automatic deposition collectors (CARAGA) has been installed throughout the western Mediterranean basin. Weekly samples of the insoluble fraction of total atmospheric deposition were collected concurrently on filters at 5 sites including 4 on western Mediterranean islands (Frioul and Corsica, France, Mallorca, Spain, and Lampedusa, Italy), and 1 in the southern French Alps (Le Casset), and a weighing and ignition protocol was applied in order to quantify their mineral fraction. Atmospheric deposition is both a strong source of nutrients and metals for marine ecosystems in this area. However, there is little data on trace metal deposition in the literature since their deposition measurement is difficult to perform. In order to obtain more information from CARAGA atmospheric deposition samples, this study aimed at testing their relevance to estimate elemental fluxes in addition to total fluxes. The elemental chemical analysis of ashed CARAGA filter samples was based on an acid digestion and an elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and mass spectrometry (MS) in a clean room. The sampling and analytical protocols were tested to determine the elemental composition for mineral dust tracers (Al, Ca, K, Mg, and Ti), nutrients (P and Fe), and trace metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, V and Zn) from simulated wet deposition of dust analogues and traffic soot. The relative mass loss by dissolution in wet deposition was lower than 1 % for Al and Fe, and reached 13 % for P due to its larger solubility in water. For trace metals, this loss represented less than 3 % of the total mass concentration, except for Zn, Cu and Mn for which it could reach 10 %, especially in traffic soot. The chemical contamination during analysis was negligible for all the elements except for Cd which is in very low concentration in dust. Tests allowed us to conclude that the CARAGA samples could be used to estimate contents of nutrients and trace metals in the limits of loss by dissolution. Chemical characterization of CARAGA deposition samples corresponding to the most intense dust deposition events recorded between 2011 and 2013 has been performed and showed elemental mass ratios consistent with the ones found in the literature for Saharan dust. However, the chemical analysis of CARAGA samples revealed the presence of some anthropogenic signatures, as for instance high Zn concentrations in some samples in Lampedusa, and also pointed out that mineral dust can be mixed with anthropogenic compounds in the deposition samples collected on the Frioul Island. Results showed that the chemical analysis of CARAGA ashed samples can be used to trace back origins of elemental deposition. The elemental atmospheric fluxes estimated from these chemical analyses of samples from the CARAGA network of weekly deposition monitoring constitute the first assessment of mass deposition fluxes of trace metals and P during intense dust deposition events at the scale of the western Mediterranean basin.
Trend in total atmospheric deposition fluxes of aluminium, iron, and trace metals in the northwestern Mediterranean over the past decade (1985-1997)