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Time series analysis of air pollutants in Beirut, Lebanon

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Abstract

This study reports for the first time a time series analysis of daily urban air pollutant levels (CO, NO, NO2, O3, PM10, and SO2) in Beirut, Lebanon. The study examines data obtained between September 2005 and July 2006, and their descriptive analysis shows long-term variations of daily levels of air pollution concentrations. Strong persistence of these daily levels is identified in the time series using an autocorrelation function, except for SO2. Time series of standardized residual values (SRVs) are also calculated to compare fluctuations of the time series with different levels. Time series plots of the SRVs indicate that NO and NO2 had similar temporal fluctuations. However, NO2 and O3 had opposite temporal fluctuations, attributable to weather conditions and the accumulation of vehicular emissions. The effects of both desert dust storms and airborne particulate matter resulting from the Lebanon War in July 2006 are also discernible in the SRV plots.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), the regional council of Ile de France, the University of Saint Joseph, the Lebanese non-governmental organization Arc En Ciel, and the CEDRE project (Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France and Ministry of Higher Education and Research in France and Lebanon) for their financial support of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Physique, F.S., Université Saint-Joseph, Campus des sciences et technologies, Mar Roukos, Mkalles. B.P. 11-514 Riad el Solh, Beirut, 11072050, Lebanon

    Wehbeh Farah & Georges Germanos

  2. Département de Sciences de la vie et de la terre, F.S., Université Saint-Joseph, Campus des sciences et technologies, Mar Roukos, Mkalles. B.P. 11-514 Riad el Solh, Beirut, 11072050, Lebanon

    Myriam Mrad Nakhlé

  3. Département de Chimie, F.S., Université Saint-Joseph, Campus des sciences et technologies, Mar Roukos, Mkalles. B.P. 11-514 Riad el Solh, Beirut, 11072050, Lebanon

    Maher Abboud

  4. INSERM, UMR_S 1136, Institut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Equipe EPAR, F-75013, Paris, France

    Myriam Mrad Nakhlé & Isabella Annesi-Maesano

  5. Département de Géographie, F.L.S.H., Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon

    Rita Zaarour, Nada Saliba & Jocelyne Gerard

Authors
  1. Wehbeh Farah
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  2. Myriam Mrad Nakhlé
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  3. Maher Abboud
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  4. Isabella Annesi-Maesano
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  5. Rita Zaarour
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  6. Nada Saliba
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  7. Georges Germanos
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  8. Jocelyne Gerard
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Correspondence to Wehbeh Farah.

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Farah, W., Nakhlé, M.M., Abboud, M. et al. Time series analysis of air pollutants in Beirut, Lebanon. Environ Monit Assess 186, 8203–8213 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3998-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3998-9

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