Abstract:
This researchwas aimed at investigating the Saharan dust cloud recorded on 11 and 12May 2020,
by AERONET AOD stations in Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, and Romania and determining
whether it affected the area of the Republic of Moldova. During this period, the Chisinau
AERONET monitoring site was not operational. The incentive for the investigation was the discovery
of a high sediment load in rainwater collected on 12 May 2020 in Pelinia, a village in the Dochia district
of the Republic of Moldova, in the southeastern part of Europe (47.8780 latitude, 27.8344 longitude),
which could have originated from the Saharan dust storm. Backward trajectory analysis with NOAA’s
HYSPLIT model confirmed that the Saharan dust storm impacted the village of Pelinia. Scanning
electron microscopy coupled with electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of Pelinia rainwater sediments confirmed the chemical
composition and morphological structure of Saharan dust particles. The particle size of the
sediments matched the measurements at the AOD stations at Timisoara and Magurele, supporting
the suggestion that Saharan dust probably entered the Republic of Moldova from Romania. FTIR
analysis identified chemical compounds such as carbon dioxide, carbonates, sulfates, ferrocyanides,
and organics (amines, amides, polypeptides, imines, oximes, pyrroles, aldehydes, sulfoxides, sulfones,
nitro-derivatives) that were adsorbed and/or absorbed from the atmosphere, consistent with Saharan
dust aerosols. Bio-allergens such as pollen were detected in the SEM images, showing the role of
Saharan dust in transporting and spreading this kind of biological material. This study highlights
the risk of Saharan dust clouds to humans, animals, and plants, but also its potential benefits for
agriculture when suitable conditions are met in this regard.
