Meteorol Atmos Phys (2003) DOI 10.1007/s00703-003-0010-6 1 Academic Alternative Educational Network, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro 2 Institute of Meteorology, Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro 3 Institute of Physics, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro Analysis of the Saharan dust regional transport Z. Vukmirovic ´ 1 , M. Unkas ˇevic ´ 2 , L. Lazic ´ 2 , I. Tos ˇic ´ 2 , S. Rajs ˇic ´ 3 , and M. Tasic ´ 3 With 4 Figures Received December 2001; revised April 21, 2002; accepted January 16, 2003 Published online: August 7, 2003 # Springer-Verlag 2003 Summary The Balkan Peninsula is situated in the impact zone of Saharan dust storms. The case of Saharan dust transport to Belgrade in the period of 14–17 April 1994 is analyzed using the Eta model for synoptic and meso scale processes. Air back trajectories are calculated at six model levels from 434 up to 5129 m with horizontal grid resolutions of 1   1  and 10 0  10 0 . Following cyclonic circulation the dust was picked up from North Africa, and transported over Mediterranean. Simultaneously, according to the analysis of the three lowest trajectories, transport of trace metals from Macedonia and southern Serbia by the Koshava wind might be dominant in the observed episode. Turbulent flow enhanced the coagulation process of initially clean dust particles with particles containing Pb and Cd. The coa- gulation and scavenging processes below and in clouds increased deposition rates of Pb and Cd in Belgrade in the course of wet removal, and consequently trough resuspen- sion processes. Dry deposition samples contained char- acteristic particles up to 30 mm in diameter with Fe content of 11 to 15 atomic% and significant ratio Si=Fe of 3 to 5, determined for selected single particles by the SEM=EDX method. Following dry and wet deposition of Cd and Pb, a residual effect of dustfall is noticed throughout the vegetational period. 1. Introduction The Mediterranean region and particularly the Balkan Peninsula have been under the influence of Saharan dust transport and deposition over millennia. In the first place, the presence of dust particles in the atmosphere modifies radiation properties and thus affects the regional climate (Ni  ckovi  c et al, 1997). Nowadays, initially clean particles, having passed over heavily polluted areas, may absorb and adsorb toxic matter. Even a single 48 h event resulted in a wet deposi- tion of 10–20% of the annual wet deposition of trace metals at Norwegian background stations (Berg et al, 1994). During a vast dustfall of ‘‘yellow snow’’ in Fennoscandia on 10 March 1991 approximately 50 000 t were deposited on an area of at least 320 000 km 2 (Franzen et al, 1994). In the last case, dust particles with median diameter of 2.7 mm passing over central Europe absorbed anthropogenic volatile organic matter. Atmospheric particles carry a substantial frac- tion of insoluble material: less hygroscopic up to 90%, while more hygroscopic of 20–50% (Fuzzi and Wagenbach, 1997). The less hygroscopic particles may be enriched in Mn and Fe, indicat- ing their origin from combustion processes. However, Saharan dust is also rich with Fe, which in both soluble and suspended forms gives a red or yellow color to precipitation. Kubilay et al (2000) found that about 30% of the annual mineral dust deposition occurred in two Saharan dust events observed in May 1992 on the Turkish coast of the eastern Mediterranean.