Size-resolved aerosol particle deposition to European broadleaved forests

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is a subject of major concern in Europe because it has been attributed to the most severe health effects. Vegetation is likely to play an important role in mitigating this source of air pollution because of the large surface area offered by leaves to filter PM out of the air. Many studies aimed at quantifying the dry deposition of PM to vegetation, particularly in forests. However the characterization of the exchange processes are still incomplete. PM deposited on leaves, for example, can be re-suspended in air, while the only process that represents the ultimate removal of PM from the atmosphere is the washing off by precipitation dripping from leaves to the soil. Up to now only a couple of models attempted to include the above-mentioned processes in their formulation, but their description is far from truly mechanistic and should be still validated. The aim of this PhD project is the micrometeorological characterization of the size-resolved PM deposition and resuspension processes to European broadleaved forests under different climatic conditions with related possible physiological interactions. The research will consist of a combination of experimental and observational work both in the field (eddy covariance) and in the Lab (wind tunnel or growth chambers) with the aim to improve the actual deposition models.