Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Atmospheric Environment
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/atmosenv

Temporal scaling study of particulate matter (PM10) and solar radiation

influences on air temperature in the Caribbean basin using a 3D joint
multifractal analysis
Thomas Plocoste a, b, *, Pablo Pavo
�n-Domínguez c
a
Department of Research in Geoscience, KaruSph�ere SASU, Abymes, 97139, Guadeloupe
b
EA 4935 - LaRGE (Laboratoire de Recherche en G�eosciences et Energies), D�epartement de Physique, Universit�e des Antilles, Pointe-�
a-Pitre, 97157, Guadeloupe (F.W.I.)
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design, Universidad de C� adiz, Spain

H I G H L I G H T S

� Application of a 3D joint multifractal method between PM10 and climatic parameters.

� Multifractal spectrum was performed on time series.
� Scaling properties of air temperature was highlighted in Caribbean region.
� A greenhouse effect was observed in high dust season.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In literature, many studies have highlighted the health impact of African dust. To our knowledge, few of them
Joint multifractal analysis have analyzed the impact of mineral dust on the climate of the Caribbean basin in a multifractal way. In this
Air temperature study, the joint multifractal analysis was performed for three variables coexisting in the same geometric support
PM10
in order to outline the influence of Particulate Matter (PM10) and Solar Radiation (SR) on air Temperature
Solar radiation
Complex geometry phenomena
(TEMP) over a wider range of temporal scales and exponents order. To conduct this analysis, six years of daily
Greenhouse effect time series recorded in Guadeloupe archipelago were used. A 3D joint multifractal analysis was conducted by
considering both the strange attraction formalism and the method of moments. The scale dependence among the
studied variables was highlighted and the capability of joint multifractal analysis to completely characterize the
complex temporal geometry among these non linear natural phenomena was demonstrated. Saharan dust sea­
sonality strongly influenced TEMP values across analyzed temporal scales. We found that multifractality degree is
more significant for high dust season. In addition, the single multifractal spectrum always showed the mono­
fractal pattern of TEMP while the fractal dimension differs according to dust seasonality and explanatory variable
values, i.e. PM10 and SR. All these results have clearly highlighted the strong influence of PM10 concentration
and SR intensity on TEMP value.

1. Introduction
These last decades, many studies were made on mineral dust sea­
sonality and origins in the Caribbean basin (Colarco et al., 2003a, b;
Doherty et al., 2008; Prospero and Mayol-Bracero, 2013; Kumar et al.,
2014; Velasco-Merino et al., 2018). With 800 Tg yr 1 , i.e. 70% of the
total is African, the world’s largest dust source (Huneeus et al., 2011). A
main part of these emissions are transported from the westcoast of North
Africa to the western Atlantic side (Prospero et al., 2014).
From May to September, i.e the high dust season, important amounts
of mineral dust are carried from the Sahara and the Sahel to the
Caribbean Sea (Prospero et al., 1981). Dust transport occurs mainly in
the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), a hot, dry dust-laden layer located above
the top of the marine boundary layer (Carlson and Prospero, 1972).
During that period, the SAL tops out at about 3–4 km over the western
Atlantic side (Huang et al., 2010; Tsamalis et al., 2013). When dust
outbreaks occur, the transit time between western Africa and the eastern
Caribbean takes about 5–7 days (Velasco-Merino et al., 2018).

* Corresponding author. Department of Research in Geoscience, KaruSph�ere SASU, Abymes, 97139, Guadeloupe.
E-mail addresses: karusphere@gmail.com (T. Plocoste), pablo.pavon@uca.es (P. Pav�
on-Domínguez).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.117115
Received 27 March 2019; Received in revised form 3 November 2019; Accepted 5 November 2019
Available online 18 November 2019
1352-2310/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115

In literature, it is widely demonstrated that mineral dust affects theoretical framework of the joint multifractal analysis. Then, the ach­
human health (Pope et al., 2002; Griffin and Kellogg, 2004; Prospero ieved results are presented and discussed in section 3. Lastly, a conclu­
and Mayol-Bracero, 2013; Cadelis et al., 2014), to cite only a few. sion and an outlook for future studies are given in Section 4.
Moreover, mineral dust could also play a significant role in climate.
Indeed, their impacts can be felt with different effects: direct, 2. Materials and methods
semi-direct and indirect. Choobari et al. (2014) review study highlights
that mineral dust directly impact Earth’s radiation budget by scattering 2.1. Study site and data collection
and partly absorbing solar radiation (Miller and Tegen, 1998),
semi-directly by modifying the atmospheric cloud cover through evap­ Guadeloupe archipelago is a French overseas region of ~1800 km2
oration of cloud droplets (Hansen et al., 1997; Ackerman et al., 2000), located in the middle of the West Indies arc (see GPE in Fig. 1; 440,000
and indirectly by operating as cloud and ice condensation nuclei (Tar­ inhabitants). In this study, the time series used are hourly data released
gino et al., 2006; Teller and Levin, 2006). by Guadeloupe air quality network (Gwad’Air) and French Weather
In this study, we focus on mineral dust that have an aerodynamic Office (M�et�eo France) (Plocoste et al., 2019). Between 2010 and 2017,
diameter less than 10 μm diameter. Commonly referred to as PM10, six years of PM10 measurements are available: from 2010 to 2012 in
these particulate matter may have a wide impact on meteorological Pointe-a �-Pitre (16:2422∘ N, 61:5414∘ W) and from 2015 to 2017 in
parameters. Here, solar radiation and air temperature are selected. Our Baie-Mahault (16:2561∘ N, 61:5903∘ W). 2013 and 2014 data in Abymes
primary goal in this work is to assess PM10 and solar radiation in­ (16:2611∘ N, 61:5269∘ W) were invalidated by Gwad’Air due to a local
fluences on air temperature behaviour. However, the characterization pollution that may disrupts PM10 signal. These invalidated data were
across temporal and spatial scales is difficult due to the multiple vari­ rejected for our study. For the same periods, Solar Radiation (SR) and air
ables involved in air temperature. Indeed, they coexist in the same Temperature (TEMP) measurements made on the international airport
space-time and govern air temperature fluctuations (Bristow and in Abymes (16:2630∘ N 61:5147∘ W) were selected. All measurements
Campbell, 1984; Mohseni and Stefan, 1999; Gui et al., 2007; Schwarz were performed in the center of the island where the main emitters of
et al., 2012). pollutants are located: the main industrial area, the biggest open landfill,
Multifractal analysis has demonstrated to be a suitable tool for the two busiest roads of the island and the international airport (Plocoste
describing the scaling properties of a variety of meteorological and et al., 2017b, 2018). In order to investigate PM10 and SR influences on
pollutions time series for the independence of its parameters over a TEMP, all measurements must be synchronous. Time series were previ­
range of scales. Specifically, several algorithms and approaches have ously pre-processed. Consequently, no anomalous data were found due
explored the multifractal properties of air temperature (Lee et al., 2010; to the validation process performed by Gwad’Air and M� et�eo France. To
Zhou and Leung, 2010; Jiang et al., 2013; Burguen ~ o et al., 2014; Mali, conduct this study, hourly data were converted into daily average
2015; Kalamaras et al., 2017) and PM10 (Dong et al., 2017; Plocoste values. In total, between 2010 and 2017, 2062 points are available for
et al., 2017a; Manimaran and Narayana, 2018; Fan et al., 2019; Gao PM10 data; i.e. 94% of potential data. The missing data are mostly due to
et al., 2019; Wang, 2019). Thus, the study of these interactions using maintenance. As regards SR and TEMP, data set are complete, i.e. 2190
multifractal techniques provides useful results. The pioneer idea of the points. Consequently, 2062 points are retained.
joint multifractal analysis for several variables was developed by Fig. 2 displays a time series example of the daily measurements of
Meneveau et al. (1990). This is based on the relationships that two PM10, SR and TEMP. Visually, one can observe that all signals show a
variables exhibit at different scales when they coexist in the same geo­ cyclical behaviour. This trend is more pronounced for PM10 and TEMP
metric support. From this work, several studies were conducted in time series which seem to follow the same temporal pattern.
several fields, such as soils (Yi et al., 2011; Zheng-Ying et al., 2011;
Bertol et al., 2017; Siqueira et al., 2018), agronomy (Kravchenko et al.,
2000; Zeleke and Si, 2004), grassland productivity (Banerjee et al.,
2011), stock markets (Chen and Zheng, 2017), meteorology and pollu­
tion (Jim�enez-Hornero et al., 2010). Specifically, Jim� enez-Hornero et al.
(2011) first applied the joint multifractal analysis to assess the scaling
relationship between air temperature and an explanatory variable
(wind-regimens). Later, other works focusing on joint multifractal
analysis of temperature have been developed (Chatterjee et al., 2018).
The first generalization of the multifractal aspect for more than two
variables was carried out for the study of the influence of chemical and
meteorological variables on tropospheric ozone (Pavo �n-Domínguez
et al., 2015). Subsequently, it was used for the study of topography and
soil texture on soil water storage (Biswas, 2019). Taking advantage of
the potential of this method, this generalization of the joint multifractal
analysis to multiple variables is conducted. This procedure enables to
characterize and summarize in a compact spectrum the influence that
PM10 and solar radiation produce on air temperature variability across
different temporal scales according to seasonality. The main advantages
of this method are: i) results provide a useful description of temporal
variations of air temperature, ii) this description is conducted by the
joint action of chemical and meteorological variables, and iii) parame­
ters are scale independent. The procedure for three variables is con­
ducted according to the algorithm proposed by Pavo �n-Domínguez et al.
(2015), which MATLAB pseudo-code is available as supplementary
Fig. 1. Overview of the West Indies arc with Puerto-Rico at the top (18:23∘ N,
material in the aforementioned work. To our knowledge, this research 66:50∘ W; PR in yellow), Guadeloupe archipelago in the middle (16:25∘ N,
study is the first of its kind in atmospheric field. 61:58∘ W; GPE in orange), and Grenada at the bottom (12:10∘ N, 61:68∘ W; GR
In order to carry out this study, that paper is organized as follows. in green). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the
Firstly, Section 2 describes the study area, the data sets used, and the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

2
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
Fig. 2. Examples of simultaneous measurements sequences between particulate
matter (PM10), Solar Radiation (SR) and air Temperature (TEMP) in 2011
and 2012.
2.2. Joint multifractal framework
The extension of the joint multifractal analysis for the study of three
variables distributed in the same geometric support is conducted by
taking the strange attraction or formalism (Grassberger, 1983; Hentschel
and Procaccia, 1983; Halsey et al., 1986) and the method of moments
(Evertsz and Mandelbrot, 1992). The joint multifractal characterization
(Meneveau et al., 1990) of the distributions and properties of several
multifractal measures coexisting in the same temporal can be summa­
rized into five steps:
Step 1: Domain division. The temporal domain is successively divided
into n non-overlapping intervals of power of 2 lengths for a set of
time resolution δ ranging from δini to δfinal . The values ½TEMP�ini ,
½PM10�ini and ½SR�ini in any initial interval j are set to be equal to
the sample measurement and thus, δini is defined as the mini­
mum time resolution that allows to assign a non-zero measure
for each initial interval. The sum of the values ½TEMP�ini ,
½PM10�ini and ½SR�ini which are contained into a certain interval,
are assigned to each interval. Finally, the total sum of the
measurements of each variable is assigned to the final interval
δfinal .
Step 2: Probability mass functions. The probability mass functions of
each interval, ci , are defined in terms of a mass density (Krav­
chenko et al., 2000; Zeleke and Si, 2004):
½TEMP�i
ci½TEMP� ðδÞ ¼ Pnini (1a)
j¼1 ð½TEMP�ini Þj
½PM10�i
ci½PM10� ðδÞ ¼ Pnini (1b)
j¼1 ð½PM10�ini Þj
½SR�i
ci½SR� ðδÞ ¼ Pnini (1c)
j¼1 ð½SR�ini Þj
½TEMP�i , ½PM10�i and ½SR�i being the sum of the values of TEMP, PM10
and SR which comprise each interval i for a specific time resolution δ.
Meanwhile, the denominators are the sum of all the measures of each
time series, and thus, probability mass ci½TEMP� ðδÞ, ci½PM10� ðδÞ, and ci½SR� ðδÞ
represents for each time resolution the relative weight or density of each
interval i, with respect to the sum of all values of the series.
3
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
Step 3: Joint partition function. In this step, the existence of scaling
properties in the joint distribution of the studied variables is
evaluated. The combined study of the probability mass functions
through different time scales is developed by the method of
moments (Evertsz and Mandelbrot, 1992). The joint partition
function, which depends on the values of the three exponents, is
calculated for each interval size, δ, as follows:
χ ðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� ; δÞ
n h
X � �iq½TEMP� h � �iq½PM10�
¼ ci½TEMP� δ � ci½PM10� δ (2)
i¼1
q½SR�
�½ci½SR� ðδÞ�
where n indicates the amount of intervals existing for a specific δ value.
The three exponents ðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ ranging from 3 to 3 at 0.5
increments are introduced in this step. While the higher positive value of
qi the greater emphasis on high values of the variable i, the higher
negative value of qi the greater emphasis on low values of the variable i.
When two exponents are equal to zero, the joint partition function is
simplified and resembles the partition function for a single variable. For
multifractal measures, the joint partition function has the following
scaling property:
χ ðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� ; δÞ � δτðq½TEMP� ;q½PM10� ;q½SR� Þ (3)
where τðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ is the mass exponent function and depends
only on the exponents q½TEMP� , q½PM10� and q½SR� .
Step 4: Mass exponent function. The mass exponent function is esti­
mated from the slope of the linear segment fits of the log–log
plot of the joint partition function versus the time resolution.
From this relationship several issues can be defined. On the one
hand, the existence of multifractality in the relationships among
variables is tested. On the other hand, the range of temporal
scales, δlower – δupper , for which the multifractal nature is evinced.
Step 5: Joint multifractal spectrum. One way to analyse the multifractal
behaviour of phenomena is the construction of the joint multi­
fractal spectrum, which represents fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ versus
ðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ, which characterizes the scaling properties
of the joint distribution of the local exponents α½TEMP� , α½PM10� and
α½SR� (Meneveau et al., 1990). fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ can be
considered as the fractal dimension of the set of intervals that
corresponds to a combination of the singularities α½TEMP� , α½PM10�
and α½SR� . The Lipschitz–Ho €lder or singularity exponents ðα½TEMP� ;
α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ quantify the strength of the measures singularities.
By the Legendre transformation of the mass exponent for each
statistical exponent, the singularity exponents are determined:
dτðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ
α½TEMP� ðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ ¼ (4a)
dq½TEMP�
dτðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ
α½PM10� ðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ ¼ (4b)
dq½PM10�
dτðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ
α½SR� ðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ ¼ (4c)
dq½SR�
Let Nðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� ; δÞ be the number of intervals of a given time
resolution δ, where a given combination of α values are found, and
define fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ from the scaling relationship:
Nðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� ; δÞ � δ f ðα½TEMP� ;α½PM10� ;α½SR� Þ
(5)
Finally, fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ can be calculated by Chhabra and
Jensen (1989); Chhabra et al. (1989); Meneveau et al. (1990):
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
f ðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ
¼ q½TEMP� α½Temp� þ q½PM10� α½PM10�
þq½SR� α½SR� τðq½TEMP� ; q½PM10� ; q½SR� Þ
A multifractal spectrum for time series reaches a maximum value for
fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ equal to 1, which corresponds to the capacity
dimension of the geometric support for a one-dimensional variable.
When one statistical exponent is equal to zero, the joint multifractal
spectrum is identical to the joint multifractal spectrum for two variables.
Similarly, the single multifractal spectrum is obtained when two statis­
tical exponents are simultaneously equal to zero.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Overall analysis
3.1.1. 3-joint multifractal spectrum
The temporal range for which joint multifractal properties in TEMP,
PM10 and SR variables are expected is examined for each combination
of q moments through the joint partition function. An analysis was
performed from January 1st, 2009 to October 21st, 2011, i.e. a period of
1024 data ¼ 210. From the joint partition function versus time resolu­
tion, linear regions can be observed for all the temporal scales studied, i.
e. δmin ¼ 1 day to δmax ¼ 1024 data. Linear fits were established for the
aforementioned temporal scaling range with a mean value of R2 around
0,990 for most of the linear regressions. This fact ensures that the joint
multifractal properties of these variables are put in evidence for a broad
scaling range (1 day–1024 days � 3 years).
We are interested in the temporal scaling relation among the studied
variables. For this purpose, the 3-joint multifractal spectrum is analyzed.
The 3-joint multifractal spectrum put in evidence the relations among
the singularity exponents α½TEMP� , α½PM10� and α½SR� , giving a fractal
dimension fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ to each combination of them. fðα½TEMP� ;
α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ reaches the capacity dimension of the support when the
three statistical moments q are simultaneously equal to zero ðq½TEMP� ¼
q½PM10� ¼ q½SR� ¼ 0Þ.
In this case, a unique value is found for α½TEMP� , α½PM10� and α½SR� , for
which fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ ¼ 1. In addition, when the multi-scaling
relationship among variables is monofractal, the 3-joint multifractal
spectrum consists of a single point. As noted, monofractality is one of the
possible results when a multifractal analysis is conducted. By contrast,
greater is the multifractality, broader is the range of α½TEMP� , α½PM10� and
α½SR� values. The existence of multifractality reveals a greater variability
Fig. 3. 3D joint multifractal spectrum obtained from TEMP, PM10 and SR time series.
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
in the distribution of values of the studied variables.
(6) Fig. 3 shows the 3-joint multifractal spectrum for TEMP, PM10 and
SR variables. Each axis represents the values of the singularity exponents
and the combination of each triad α½TEMP� , α½PM10� and α½SR� is character­
ized by a fractal dimension fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ. This is depicted by a
gradient of frequencies according to the darker, the greater the fractal
dimension is. According to Fig. 3, fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ is a convex
surface ranging from 0.68 to 1, which indicates the multifractal
behaviour of this analysis. Moreover, notably differences can be found
when we focus on the range of α values. Whereas α½TEMP� varies in a quite
narrow range from 0.99 to 1.01 (Δα½TEMP� ¼ 0.02), α½PM10� and α½SR�
respectively vary from 0.85 to 1.10 (Δα½PM10� ¼ 0.25) and from 0.98 to
1.14 (Δα½SR� ¼ 0.16). PM10 has the greatest multifractality degree, i.e.
highest variability, because contrary to SR and TEMP, it depends on
several random parameters as anthropogenic pollution (local source)
and Saharan dust (large scale source) which may vary significantly from
one year to another (Plocoste et al., 2017a). Contrary to megacities,
anthropogenic pollution in Guadeloupe archipelago generates low PM10
concentrations, i.e. � 20 μg=m3 in average (Euphrasie-Clotilde et al.,
2017). Consequently, high PM10 concentrations recorded are mainly
related to desert dust (Prospero et al., 2014). Many factors may explain
annual variations of PM10 concentration from year to year. The main
one is activation of dust sources in Africa (Knippertz and Todd, 2010).
To evaluate the relationship between pairs of variables, in Fig. 4 the
3-joint multifractal spectrum is projected in a parallel way on the plane
formed by the two axes of the variables involved. In addition, taking into
account that the greater α, the lower data value and vice-versa, some
relationships between pairs of variables can be found. As seen in Fig. 4a
and b, the scarce variability in TEMP promotes a very flat perspective of
the relationship among PM10 and SR with TEMP. As observed, in both
cases they exhibit a direct and increasing relationship from bottom left
part (low α values) to the top right (high α values), which indicates that
high values of TEMP are related to high PM10 concentrations and high
SR data. On the other hand, the same is true for low values. This trend
between TEMP PM10 may be explained as a greenhouse effect caused
by the presence of dust in the atmosphere. This phenomenon was pre­
viously observed by Elminir (2007a) in Egypt. According to Choobari
et al. (2014), the impact of high PM10 concentrations on TEMP values
may be referenced as a semi-directly effect. It is important to recall that
PM10 measurements made by Gwad’Air are in the surface layer. They
are not representative of PM10 contents in the entirety of atmospheric
column. Indeed, the transport of dust from the West African coast to the
Caribbean across the Atlantic Ocean is made in the SAL (Carlson and
4
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
Fig. 4. Joint multifractal spectrum obtained from TEMP, PM10 and SR time series in 2 Dimension.
Prospero, 1972). Out of Africa, SAL can range from 4000 to 5000 m
(Dunion and Velden, 2004). Furthermore, high PM10 concentrations
may also decrease horizontal visibility (Ozer et al., 2007).
On the other hand, as expected, the trend to high-high and low-low
TEMP SR is observed: the more SR, the greater TEMP is because ul­
traviolet and infrared SR increase. When the relation between PM10 and
SR is considered, the joint spectrum puts in evidence a great variability.
As observed in Fig. 4c, there is an absent relationship between high
PM10 and low SR values, i.e. low α½PM10� and high α½SR� . In addition, the
combinations low values of PM10 and SR, and high values of PM10 and
SR are infrequent, as it is deducted from the low values of fðαÞ in these
regions of the spectrum. This shows a trend of opposite behaviour be­
tween PM10 and SR. This behaviour was also noticed by Elminir
(2007b). High PM10 concentrations can decrease SR intensity that
reached the ground level (Bian and Zender, 2003). According to Elminir
(2007c), in Egypt, the reduction in ultraviolet radiation was 22% for
days with PM10 � 150 μg=m3. Mineral dust aerosols directly impact
Earth’s radiation by scattering and partly absorbing SR (Miller and
Tegen, 1998; Choobari et al., 2014).
3.1.2. 2-joint multifractal spectrum
Even if joint multifractal analysis do not establishes a dependence
relationship among variables, we are interested in the influence of both
PM10 and SR on TEMP. For this reason, TEMP is selected as dependent
variable and PM10 and SR as explanatory variables. Again considering
Fig. 3, for each variable, the spectrum is a combination of several quasi-
parallel surfaces which are governed by its different q values. In this
case, 3 values can be selected for each explanatory variable: q ¼ 3, q ¼
0 and q ¼ 3. Whereas high q values magnified the importance of the
very high data, low q values magnified the very low data. The case in
which q is equal to zero, data of the variable are not considered, acting as
same as the variable is removed from the study. Thereby, when a certain
q value is selected, it is possible to obtain a specific sliced surface from
the 3-joint multifractal spectrum. This surface, called 2-joint multi­
fractal spectrum, contains the information of two variables on the basis
of the fixed characteristics taken from the q value of the first variable. At
the end, when combinations of regimen q½PM10� and q½SR� are selected, 9
single multifractal spectra for TEMP are obtained (see Fig. 5). Notice that
these spectra are the same, independently of the selection order of the
5
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
explanatory variables.
2-joint multifractal spectra depicted in Fig. 5a–c considers SR as first
explanatory variable. Thus, 3 slices from the 3-joint multifractal spec­
trum are obtained (q½SR� ¼ 3, q½SR� ¼ 0, q½SR� ¼ 3). In all cases, the
multifractal relation between TEMP and SR is slightly direct, but is not
evident due to the maintenance of the homogeneous range of α value
chosen for all the spectra. A slight tendency to high-high and low-low
correlation is found independent of the SR regime considered. Hence,
the main differences due to SR regimes are not found in the shape of the
spectra but in values of f. In general, linked high PM10 and high TEMP is
infrequent for low SR regimes (q½SR� ¼ 3). By analogy, in Fig. 5d–f,
PM10 is considered as the first explanatory variable by using q½PM10� ¼ 3,
q½PM10� ¼ 0, q½PM10� ¼ 3. Results from these spectra confirm a slight
tendency to high-high and low-low correlation between SR and TEMP, i.
e. classical behaviour between TEMP and SR. The main difference is that
when high values of PM10 are considered (q½PM10� ¼ 3), data relating to
SR and TEMP values are infrequent. This is due to the fact that high
PM10 values may increase TEMP values but also correspond to high SR
period. Indeed, from June to August, the area that receiving higher in­
tensity of SR is near 10∘ north latitude due to Earth’s inclination in the
northern hemisphere (Noor et al., 2018). This cause a classic increase in
TEMP measured in Guadeloupe (Br� evignon, 2003). Furthermore, during
the same period, the Intertropical Convergence Zone allows the trans­
port of dust from the West African coast to the Caribbean across the
Atlantic Ocean in the SAL (Carlson and Prospero, 1972; Ben-Ami et al.,
2012). During dust outbreaks, i.e. ½PM10� > 50 μg=m3 , atmospheric
temperature increases on average by 1.5� C. This values was previously
found by Jury and Winter (2010) with satellite data at ~850 hPa
(~1450 m) over the Caribbean. In atmospheric field, these values are
significant.
3.1.3. Multifractal spectrum
The final step for obtaining the single multifractal spectra for TEMP is
to cut the 2-joint multifractal spectrum with the second explanatory
variable in order to define simultaneously different regimes of PM10 and
SR (Fig. 5g-o). When we cross q ¼ 0 for both PM10 and SR, this multi­
fractal spectrum is the same that we would obtain if a single multifractal
analysis for TEMP was conducted (Fig. 5k). A check point that ensures
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
Fig. 5. Single multifractal spectra for ½TEMP� obtained for different q½PM10� and q½SR� scenarios.
that the procedure is correct is that the maximum value of fðα½TEMP� ;
α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ reaches the capacity dimension of the support (i.e. 1) when
both PM10 and SR are not considered. As observed, all the points of the
spectra are overlapped in a unique point, which indicated that TEMP
follows monofractal behaviour. This fact evinces that TEMP follows a
simple monofractal behaviour in the Caribbean basin, for which a
unique fractal dimension is enough for completely characterize the
temporal scaling behaviour of this variable. This is generalized for all the
cases. Consequently, it can be stated that TEMP show a monofractal
behaviour in Caribbean region, which can be explained through the low
temporal variability of this variable throughout the year. When a mul­
tifractal analysis is conducted, one of the possible results is that the
variable be a monofractal case, e.g. pH in soil spatial variability (Krav­
chenko et al., 1999). Indeed, with an average TEMP of 24� C for the
6
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
coldest month and an average of 27–28� C for the hottest month, a
narrow annual TEMP range was observed due to the nearly permanent
Trade winds flow throughout the year (Br�evignon, 2003; Plocoste et al.,
2014). This explains the low TEMP variability values in Guadeloupe
throughout the year, hence this monofractal behaviour. In other regions
such as Asia or Europe, TEMP presents a multifractal behaviour due to
the high TEMP variability values between winter and summer (Lin and
Fu, 2008; Jim�enez-Hornero et al., 2011).
However, results suggest that the influence of different PM10 and SR
combinations affects the monofractal behaviour of TEMP, according to
the different values obtained for fðα½TEMP� ; α½PM10� ; α½SR� Þ in each case,
which range from 0.7 to 1. The lowest values of fractal dimension (D)
correspond to 5 cases with “High PM10” (0.71–0.74) and “Low SR”
(0.70–0.75). The strong values of PM10 and low values of SR will
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
therefore reduce fractal dimension. In other words, “High PM10” and
“Low SR” are extreme cases, and thus, infrequent. Conversely, the
maximum value of D (0.97) is found for “High SR/Not PM10”. This is
expected owing to the always close and direct relationship between SR
and TEMP. All these results show that PM10 concentrations will have an
impact on TEMP values (Elminir, 2007a, b).
3.2. Seasonal analysis
3.2.1. Conventional statistic
In order to compare the joint multifractal behaviour considering dust
seasonality, an additional study is conducted selecting several years for
high and low dust periods. For high dust season, daily values of 2010,
2012 and 2015 were selected for TEMP, PM10 and SR from May 12th to
September 16th, which represent the central period of Saharan dust
outbreaks. On the other hand, values from November 13th to March
20th in 2010–2011, 2011–2012 and 2019–2017 were chosen for low
dust season. Years were selected for the quality of the data and the ab­
sent of missing values. Thus, six new time series are considered with 128
daily data (27 data).
Table 1 summarizes statistics values of TEMP, PM10 and SR for both
studied periods. Similar mean and standard deviation are found for each
period, ensuring that no anomalous data are found in these time series.
According to Table 1, mean values of TEMP and SR are higher in the high
dust season. These results are consistent with the explanations given in
Sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 with a greenhouse effect related to high PM10
concentrations (Elminir, 2007a) and an increase of SR intensity due to
Earth’s inclination in the northern hemisphere (Noor et al., 2018).
Focusing on standard deviation (σ), TEMP variability is higher in low
dust season because the lack of PM10 enables faster warming and
cooling of the atmosphere. Concerning PM10, σ is higher in high dust
season. During that period, in addition to anthropogenic pollution, high
PM10 concentrations mainly come from Saharan Dust (Velasco-Merino
et al., 2018). From one year to another, the number of events and the
amount of dust varies from one dust episode to another. This increases
the variability and the intermittency parameter of PM10 values (Plo­
coste et al., 2017a).
As first approximation to the statistical relation among variables, the
Pearson coefficient is computed in order to assess the linear link strength
between PM10 and SR with TEMP (see Table 2). As observed, linear
relationships are found in high dust season, but are really poor in low
dust season. Statistics says that there is no correlation between
TEMP-PM10 and TEMP-SR in low dust season. Maybe, multifractal
analysis offers different and complementary results.
3.2.2. 2-joint multifractal spectrum
Joint multifractal analysis is carried out for the six time series,
considering the same q-moments 3 : 0.5 : 3 and the total spatial range
for the linear fits (1 data to 27 data). The 3-joint multifractal spectra are
a slightly convex surface with low variability in α axis of TEMP, which is
agreement with the shape for the entire time series describe in Section
3.1.1. For depicting purposes, spectra are projected on the α½PM10� -α½SR�
plane and showed in Fig. 6.
Table 1
Summary of basic statistics (Mean (M) and Standard deviation (σ)) for TEMP, PM10 and SR according to seasonality. N represents the data point number for each time
series.
High dust season
2010 2012
M σ M σ
TEMP ( C) (N ¼ 128)
�
27.8 0.87 27.4 0.66
PM10 (μg= m3 ) (N ¼ 128) 33.6 20.04 39.4 18.02
SR (W= m2 ) (N ¼ 128) 422.3 104.26 431.2 87.00
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
As observed, joint multifractal spectra in high dust season (Fig. 6a–c)
show a very similar triangular shape that the global time series (Fig. 4c),
confirming the positive correlation among these variables. However,
some differences can be remarked. Firstly, low fðαÞ values are located at
the right part of the spectra for year 2012 and 2015, which indicates that
low PM10 values are infrequent, mainly associated to low SR values, i.e.
α½PM10� and high α½SR� . Secondly, the minimum fðαÞ values is lower than
0.50, in contrast to minimum values around 0.68 in the overall analysis.
In addition, when multifractal spectra are compared, the shape of the
spectra and the values of fðαÞ are not equally distributed. For example,
Fig. 6a (2010) shows a longer left tail where the accumulation of low
fðαÞ values are located. While year 2 (2012) and year 3 (2015) are quasi-
overlapped, year 1 highlights a more extended shape, which means that
multifractality degree is greater in 2010. Multifractal analysis detect
differences among these years, however, statistical analysis did not show
differences.
When low dust season is analyzed, a more compact spectra is found
with a rectangular o square shape owing to the fact that the left side is
truncated. This is because very high PM10 values are not found, i.e. low
α½PM10� (see Fig. 6d and e). However, the shape for the 2016–2017 period
is completely different, due to a very longer top-right tail in the spectra.
This part shows extremely infrequent events (fðαÞ < 0.2) of very high SR
and PM10. Indeed, 2016 and 2017 had the lowest annual PM10 con­
centrations in the last decade with respectively 23.0 and 24.0 μg=m3 (see
annual reports made by Gwad’Air agency and available on http://www.
gwadair.fr/). These values are close to the 20.0 μg=m3 found by
Euphrasie-Clotilde et al. (2017) for anthropogenic pollution. This shows
that there was almost no Saharan dust during the high and low dust
seasons for these years.
All these results enable us to confirm that there are differences be­
tween high dust and low dust seasons, but that within each African dust
regime, the multifractal analysis is much more sensitive to changes than
the statistical analysis, which does not detect differences between the
years studied.
3.2.3. Multifractal spectrum
Considering TEMP as dependent variable, in Fig. 7 is depicted the
single multifractal spectrum for different scenarios of PM10 and SR.
Regarding Fig. 7a–c, when the multifractal relation between PM10 and
TEMP is explored for several SR regimes, greater multifractality is found
in high dust season according to their longer multifractal spectra. With
dust outbreaks, greater combinations of values occur between TEMP and
PM10, while in low dust period, the relation between both variables
seem more homogenous. This happens for any SR regime. Therefore, it is
not a matter of high or low SR, but the considered period between high
and low dust season.
For the study of different PM10 regime (Fig. 7d–f), it is noticed that
the spectra practically overlap. The outlier values seen in low dust
season correspond to the exceptional 2016–2017 period that has been
commented previously in Fig. 6f. Therefore, the relation between SR and
TEMP is not due to the high or low dust season, but to PM10 concen­
trations in the atmospheric boundary layer. Note how the spectra are
longer for low concentrations of PM10 (Fig. 7f) than for high ones
Low dust season
2015 2010–2011 2011–2012 2016–2017
M σ M σ M σ M σ
27.5 0.70 24.7 0.98 24.5 0.79 25.0 1.13
44.2 17.61 17.0 4.65 19.6 6.83 18.6 5.56
405.9 86.27 376.7 89.10 373.4 81.38 392.6 88.37
7
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115

Table 2
Pearson correlation coefficients between variables according to seasonality. N represents the data point number for each time series.
High dust season Low dust season

2010 2012 2015 2010–2011 2011–2012 2016–2017

TEMP � PM10 (N ¼ 128) 0.547 0.505 0.150 0.071 0.077 0.122

TEMP � SR (N ¼ 128) 0.695 0.472 0.572 0.055 0.011 0.014

Fig. 6. Joint multifractal spectrum obtained from TEMP, PM10 and SR time series for dust seasonality. The red color gradient highlights the high dust season whereas
the blue color gradient shows the low dust season. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of
this article.)

(Fig. 7d). This means that when PM10 concentration is high, the mul­
tifractal behaviour between SR and TEMP is very low. So, there is little
variability which grows when PM10 concentration decreases in the at­
mospheric boundary layer.
As expected, the behaviour of TEMP is also monofractal for all pe­
riods analyzed. However, depending on the scenario, the values of the
fractal dimension are different, being also nuanced by the seasonality of
the African dust. In the single multifractal spectra, points and error bars
represent the mean value and the standard deviation of the three years
of each season, respectively. When high SR values are considered
(Fig. 7g–i), no differences are observed in high and low dust season.
When PM10 variable is not taken into account in the study, the multi­
fractal spectrum is similar to the single multifractal spectrum, with a
fractal dimension value close to 1 (Fig. 7h and k). When considering low
PM10 concentrations, the multifractal behaviour of TEMP in high dust
season diverges, reducing its fractal dimension and increasing its
variability.
On the contrary, when SR is low (Fig. 7m–o), TEMP variability in­
creases and it becomes more unpredictable. In addition, the fractal
dimension is reduced and it has a greater standard deviation. Finally, it
can be established that SR and PM10 govern the multifractal behaviour
of TEMP. However, when both are low, TEMP becomes more unpre­
dictable, more infrequent, so that other secondary variables govern
TEMP in detriment of SR and PM10 (Fig. 7o).
4. Conclusions
Usually, the joint multifractal spectrum can explain the scaling
behaviour between two variables. However, multiple variables can
simultaneously influence air Temperature (TEMP) values. The aim of
this study was to investigate the impact of PM10 and Solar Radiation
(SR) on TEMP. For that, a joint multifractal analysis for three variables
was achieved for outlining the complex scaling relationships of PM10
and SR on TEMP.
Overall, multifractal properties are highlighted for a time resolution
ranging from δmin ¼ 1 to δmax ¼ 1024 with a statistical order tested from
3 to 3 at 0.5 increments. PM10 has the greatest multifractality degree
due to the strong variability of dust outbreaks from one year to another.

8
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115

Fig. 7. Single multifractal spectra for ½TEMP� obtained for different q½PM10� and q½SR� scenarios for a dust seasonality approach. The red color gradient highlights the
high dust season whereas the blue color gradient shows the low dust season. Standard deviation values are depicted by whiskers. (For interpretation of the references
to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

In addition, a rather low variability in α axis of TEMP is found. For
identical q-moments, the same multifractal properties was observed
according to dust seasonality for a time resolution ranging from δmin ¼ 1
to δmax ¼ 128.
Thereafter, the 3-joint multifractal spectrum was projected in a
parallel way on the plane formed by the two axes of the variables
involved. In spite of the low variability in a axis of TEMP, the joint
multifractal spectrum in 2 Dimension show a slight direct and increasing
relationship between TEMP PM10 and TEMP SR. That means that
high TEMP values are related to high PM10 concentrations and high SR
data. On the other hand, the same is true for low values. Concerning
PM10 SR relation, a greater multifractal spectrum was found. In this
case, multifractal spectrum show a triangular shape representing the
frequency than different combinations of PM10 SR values appear,
noticing that there is an absence of combinations of low SR with high
PM10, that is, high α½SR� with low α½PM10� .
By using TEMP as dependent variable, different scenarios of PM10
and SR were analyzed. First, the previous slight tendency to high-high
and low-low correlation was observed regardless of PM10 and SR re­
gimes considered. The main differences were observed in f values. High
PM10 and high TEMP are infrequent for low SR regimes. Conversely,
data relating to SR and TEMP values are infrequent for high PM10
values.
As regards seasonality, the multifractality degree is more relevant for

9
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
the high dust season due to a greater heterogeneity in PM10 distribution
during African dust period. From one year to another, multifractality
degree also differs for a same season. All this demonstrates that multi­
fractal analysis is much more sensitive to changes than the statistical
analysis which does not detect differences between the different years
studied. Thus, multifractal approach complete the information provided
by statistics because relations are analyzed over a wider range of tem­
poral scales and exponents order.
For the first time in the Caribbean region, the monofractal behaviour
of TEMP was highlighted. We found that PM10/SR scenarios and the
seasonality influence fractal dimension value. When PM10 and SR are
low, TEMP becomes more unpredictable, i.e. more infrequent. This
behaviour is more pronounced during the low dust season.
To conclude, this study provides the first key information on TEMP
variability linked to African dust seasonality in the Caribbean basin. By
using the joint multifractal method for more than two variables, we have
shown that chemistry and meteorological variables (PM10 and SR) may
in simultaneously influence TEMP values. In order to fully understand­
ing the complex relationship between PM10 and TEMP, a correlation
method which track temporal evolution of local correlations will be used
in future works.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Guadeloupe air quality network
(Gwad’Air) and the French Weather Office (M�et�eo France Guadeloupe)
for providing air quality and meteorological data. A special thanks to
Sylvio Laventure (geomatic specialist) for mapping assistance and
Claude Cayol (weather specialist) for tropical weather discussions. This
work is dedicated to my father, Dr. Jean-Claude Plocoste.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.117115.
References
Ackerman, A.S., Toon, O., Stevens, D., Heymsfield, A., Ramanathan, V., Welton, E., 2000.
Reduction of tropical cloudiness by soot. Science 288 (5468), 1042–1047.
Banerjee, S., He, Y., Guo, X., Si, B.C., 2011. Spatial relationships between leaf area index
and topographic factors in a semiarid grassland: joint multifractal analysis. Aust. J.
Crop. Sci. 5 (6), 756.
Ben-Ami, Y., Koren, I., Altaratz, O., Kostinski, A., Lehahn, Y., 2012. Discernible rhythm
in the spatio/temporal distributions of transatlantic dust. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 12 (5),
2253–2262.
Bertol, I., Schick, J., Bandeira, D.H., Paz-Ferreiro, J., V�azquez, E.V., 2017. Multifractal
and joint multifractal analysis of water and soil losses from erosion plots: a case
study under subtropical conditions in Santa Catarina highlands, Brazil. Geoderma
287, 116–125.
Bian, H., Zender, C.S., 2003. Mineral dust and global tropospheric chemistry: relative
roles of photolysis and heterogeneous uptake. J. Geophys. Res.: Atmosphere 108
(D21).
Biswas, A., 2019. Joint multifractal analysis for three variables: characterizing the effect
of topography and soil texture on soil water storage. Geoderma 334, 15–23.
Br�
evignon, C., 2003. Atlas Climatique: L\newspac�eenvironnement atmosph�erique de la
Guadeloupe, de Saint-Barth�el� emy et de Saint-Martin (Climatic Atlas: Atmospheric
Environment in Guadeloupe, Saint-Barth�el� emy and Saint Martin). M� et�
eo France,
Service R�egionale de Guadeloupe.
Bristow, K.L., Campbell, G.S., 1984. On the relationship between incoming solar
radiation and daily maximum and minimum temperature. Agric. For. Meteorol. 31
(2), 159–166.
Burgue~ no, A., Lana, X., Serra, C., Martínez, M., 2014. Daily extreme temperature
multifractals in Catalonia (NE Spain). Phys. Lett. A 378 (11–12), 874–885.
Cadelis, G., Tourres, R., Molinie, J., 2014. Short-term effects of the particulate pollutants
contained in saharan dust on the visits of children to the emergency department due
10
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
to asthmatic conditions in Guadeloupe (French Archipelago of the Caribbean). PLoS
One 9, e91136.
Carlson, T.N., Prospero, J.M., 1972. The large-scale movement of Saharan air outbreaks
over the northern equatorial Atlantic. J. Appl. Meteorol. 11 (2), 283–297.
Chatterjee, S., Ghosh, D., Dutta, S., 2018. Multifractal detrended cross correlation
analysis of atmospheric CO2 concentration and land-surface temperature anomalies.
Int. J. Glob. Warming 16 (2), 209–228.
Chen, Y., Zheng, T., 2017. Asymmetric joint multifractal analysis in Chinese stock
markets. Phys. A Stat. Mech. Appl. 471, 10–19.
Chhabra, A., Jensen, R.V., 1989. Direct determination of the f(α) singularity spectrum.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 62 (12), 1327–1330.
Chhabra, A.B., Meneveau, C., Jensen, R.V., Sreenivasan, K., 1989. Direct determination
of the f(α) singularity spectrum and its application to fully developed turbulence.
Phys. Rev. A 40 (9), 5284–5294.
Choobari, O.A., Zawar-Reza, P., Sturman, A., 2014. The global distribution of mineral
dust and its impacts on the climate system: a review. Atmos. Res. 138, 152–165.
Colarco, P., Toon, O., Holben, B., 2003a. Saharan dust transport to the Caribbean during
PRIDE: 1. Influence of dust sources and removal mechanisms on the timing and
magnitude of downwind aerosol optical depth events from simulations of in situ and
remote sensing observations. J. Geophys. Res.: Atmosphere 108 (D19).
Colarco, P., Toon, O., Reid, J., Livingston, J., Russell, P., Redemann, J., Schmid, B.,
Maring, H., Savoie, D., Welton, E., Campbell, J., Holben, B., Levy, R., 2003b.
Saharan dust transport to the Caribbean during PRIDE: 2. Transport, vertical
profiles, and deposition in simulations of in situ and remote sensing observations.
J. Geophys. Res.: Atmosphere 108 (D19).
Doherty, O., Riemer, N., Hameed, S., 2008. Saharan mineral dust transport into the
Caribbean: observed atmospheric controls and trends. J. Geophys. Res.: Atmosphere
113 (D7).
Dong, Q., Wang, Y., Li, P., 2017. Multifractal behavior of an air pollutant time series and
the relevance to the predictability. Environ. Pollut. 222, 444–457.
Dunion, J.P., Velden, C.S., 2004. The impact of the saharan air layer on atlantic tropical
cyclone activity. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 85 (3), 353–366.
Elminir, H.K., 2007a. Relative influence of air pollutants and weather conditions on solar
radiation–Part 1: relationship of air pollutants with weather conditions. Meteorol.
Atmos. Phys. 96 (3–4), 245–256.
Elminir, H.K., 2007b. Relative influence of weather conditions and air pollutants on solar
radiation–Part 2: modification of solar radiation over urban and rural sites.
Meteorol. Atmos. Phys. 96 (3–4), 257–264.
Elminir, H.K., 2007c. Sensitivity of ultraviolet solar radiation to anthropogenic air
pollutants and weather conditions. Atmos. Res. 84 (3), 250–264.
Euphrasie-Clotilde, L., Molini�e, J., Feuillard, T., Brute, F., 2017. The relationship
between coastal west African dust level and Caribbean island dust. WIT Trans. Ecol.
Environ. 211, 121–127.
Evertsz, C., Mandelbrot, B., 1992. Appendix b. multifractal measures. Chaos Fractals
921–953.
Fan, Q., Liu, S., Wang, K., 2019. Multiscale multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis of
multivariate time series. Phys. A Stat. Mech. Appl. 121864.
Gao, X., Wang, X., Shi, H., 2019. Multifractal cascade analysis on the nature of air
pollutants concentration time series over China. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 19 (9),
2100–2114.
Grassberger, P., 1983. Generalized dimensions of strange attractors. Phys. Lett. A 97 (6),
227–230.
Griffin, D.W., Kellogg, C.A., 2004. Dust storms and their impact on ocean and human
health: dust in earth’s atmosphere. EcoHealth 1 (3), 284–295.
Gui, J., Phelan, P.E., Kaloush, K.E., Golden, J.S., 2007. Impact of pavement
thermophysical properties on surface temperatures. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 19 (8),
683–690.
Halsey, T.C., Jensen, M.H., Kadanoff, L.P., Procaccia, I., Shraiman, B.I., 1986. Fractal
measures and their singularities: the characterization of strange sets. Phys. Rev. A 33
(2), 1141–1151.
Hansen, J., Sato, M., Ruedy, R., 1997. Radiative forcing and climate response.
J. Geophys. Res.: Atmosphere 102 (D6), 6831–6864.
Hentschel, H., Procaccia, I., 1983. The infinite number of generalized dimensions of
fractals and strange attractors. Phys. D Nonlinear Phenom. 8 (3), 435–444.
Huang, J., Zhang, C., Prospero, J.M., 2010. African dust outbreaks: a satellite perspective
of temporal and spatial variability over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. J. Geophys. Res.:
Atmosphere 115 (D5).
Huneeus, N., Schulz, M., Balkanski, Y., Griesfeller, J., Prospero, M., Kinne, S., Bauer, S.,
Boucher, O., Chin, M., Dentener, F., Diehl, T., Easter, R., Fillmore, D., Ghan, S.,
Ginoux, P., Grini, A., Horowitz, L., Koch, D., Krol, M., Landing, W., Liu, X.,
Mahowald, N., Miller, R., Morcrette, J., Myhre, G., Penner, J., Perlwitz, J., Stier, P.,
Takemura, T., Zender, C., 2011. Global dust model intercomparison in AeroCom
phase I. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11, 7781–7816.
Jiang, L., Zhao, X., Li, N., Li, F., Guo, Z., 2013. Different multifractal scaling of the 0 cm
average ground surface temperature of four representative weather stations over
China. Adv. Meteorol. 2013.
Jim�enez-Hornero, F., Pav� on-Domínguez, P., de Rav� e, E.G., 2011. Ariza-Villaverde, A..
Joint multifractal description of the relationship between wind patterns and land
surface air temperature. Atmos. Res. 99 (3–4), 366–376.
Jim�enez-Hornero, F.J., Jim�enez-Hornero, J.E., De Rav�e, E.G., Pav� on-Domínguez, P.,
2010. Exploring the relationship between nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone
by applying the joint multifractal analysis. Environ. Monit. Assess. 167 (1–4),
675–684.
Jury, M.R., Winter, A., 2010. Warming of an elevated layer over the Caribbean. Clim.
Change 99 (1–2), 247–259.
T. Plocoste and P. Pav�
on-Domínguez
Kalamaras, N., Philippopoulos, K., Deligiorgi, D., Tzanis, C., Karvounis, G., 2017.
Multifractal scaling properties of daily air temperature time series. Chaos, Solit.
Fractals 98, 38–43.
Knippertz, P., Todd, M.C., 2010. The central west Saharan dust hot spot and its relation
to African easterly waves and extratropical disturbances. J. Geophys. Res.:
Atmosphere 115 (D12).
Kravchenko, A.N., Boast, C.W., Bullock, D.G., 1999. Multifractal analysis of soil spatial
variability. Agron. J. 91 (6), 1033–1041.
Kravchenko, A.N., Bullock, D.G., Boast, C.W., 2000. Joint multifractal analysis of crop
yield and terrain slope. Agron. J. 92 (6), 1279–1290.
Kumar, A., Abouchami, W., Galer, S., Garrison, V., Williams, E., Andreae, M., 2014.
A radiogenic isotope tracer study of transatlantic dust transport from africa to the
caribbean. Atmos. Environ. 82, 130–143.
Lee, D.I., You, C.H., Jung, J.W., Chang, K.H., Kim, S.Y., Kim, K., 2010. Multifractal
structures in temperature and humidity. J. Korean Phys. Soc. 57 (2), 296–299.
Lin, G., Fu, Z., 2008. A universal model to characterize different multi-fractal behaviors
of daily temperature records over China. Phys. A Stat. Mech. Appl. 387 (2–3),
573–579.
Mali, P., 2015. Multifractal characterization of global temperature anomalies. Theor.
Appl. Climatol. 121 (3–4), 641–648.
Manimaran, P., Narayana, A., 2018. Multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis on
air pollutants of University of Hyderabad Campus, India. Phys. A Stat. Mech. Appl.
502, 228–235.
Meneveau, C., Sreenivasan, K., Kailasnath, P., Fan, M., 1990. Joint multifractal measures:
theory and applications to turbulence. Phys. Rev. A 41 (2), 894–913.
Miller, R., Tegen, I., 1998. Climate response to soil dust aerosols. J. Clim. 11 (12),
3247–3267.
Mohseni, O., Stefan, H., 1999. Stream temperature/air temperature relationship: a
physical interpretation. J. Hydrol. 218 (3–4), 128–141.
Noor, N.M., Mohamad, N.N.B., Hashim, N.I.M., 2018. Variation of ground-level ozone in
the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. EnvironmentAsia 11 (3).
Ozer, P., Laghdaf, M.B.O.M., Lemine, S.O.M., Gassani, J., 2007. Estimation of air quality
degradation due to Saharan dust at Nouakchott, Mauritania, from horizontal
visibility data. Water Air Soil Pollut. 178 (1–4), 79–87.
Pav�on-Domínguez, P., Jim�enez-Hornero, F., De Rav� e, E.G., 2015. Joint multifractal
analysis of the influence of temperature and nitrogen dioxide on tropospheric ozone.
Stoch. Environ. Res. Risk Assess. 29 (7), 1881–1889.
Plocoste, T., Calif, R., Jacoby-Koaly, S., 2017. Temporal multiscaling characteristics of
particulate matter PM10 and ground-level ozone O3 concentrations in Caribbean
region. Atmos. Environ. 169, 22–35.
Plocoste, T., Calif, R., Jacoby-Koaly, S., 2019. Multi-scale time dependent correlation
between synchronous measurements of ground-level ozone and meteorological
parameters in the Caribbean Basin. Atmos. Environ. 211, 234–246.
Plocoste, T., Dorville, J.F., Monjoly, S., Jacoby-Koaly, S., Andr�e, M., 2018. Assessment of
nitrogen oxides and ground-level ozone behavior in a dense air quality station
network: case study in the lesser antilles arc. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. 68 (12),
1278–1300.
Plocoste, T., Jacoby-Koaly, S., Molini�e, J., Petit, R., 2014. Evidence of the effect of an
urban heat island on air quality near a landfill. Urban Climate 10, 745–757.
11
Atmospheric Environment 222 (2020) 117115
Plocoste, T., Jacoby-Koaly, S., Petit, R.H., Molini�e, J., Roussas, A., 2017. In situ
quantification and tracking of volatile organic compounds with a portable mass
spectrometer in tropical waste and urban sites. Environ. Technol. 38 (18),
2280–2294.
Pope III, C.A., Burnett, R.T., Thun, M.J., Calle, E.E., Krewski, D., Ito, K., Thurston, G.D.,
2002. Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine
particulate air pollution. Jama 287 (9), 1132–1141.
Prospero, J., Glaccum, R., Nees, R., 1981. Atmospheric transport of soil dust from Africa
to South America. Nature 289 (5798), 570.
Prospero, J.M., Collard, F.X., Molini� e, J., Jeannot, A., 2014. Characterizing the annual
cycle of African dust transport to the Caribbean Basin and South America and its
impact on the environment and air quality. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 28, 757–773.
Prospero, J.M., Mayol-Bracero, O.L., 2013. Understanding the transport and impact of
African dust on the Caribbean basin. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 94 (9), 1329–1337.
Schwarz, N., Schlink, U., Franck, U., Großmann, K., 2012. Relationship of land surface
and air temperatures and its implications for quantifying urban heat island
indicators–An application for the city of Leipzig (Germany). Ecol. Indicat. 18,
693–704.
Siqueira, G.M., Silva, E.F.,
^ Vidal-V�azquez, E., Paz-Gonz� alez, A., 2018. Multifractal and
joint multifractal analysis of general soil properties and altitude along a transect.
Biosyst. Eng. 168, 105–120.
Targino, A.C., Krejci, R., Noone, K.J., Glantz, P., 2006. Single particle analysis of ice
crystal residuals observed in orographic wave clouds over Scandinavia during
INTACC experiment. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 6 (7), 1977–1990.
Teller, A., Levin, Z., 2006. The effects of aerosols on precipitation and dimensions of
subtropical clouds: a sensitivity study using a numerical cloud model. Atmos. Chem.
Phys. 6 (1), 67–80.
Tsamalis, C., Ch�edin, A., Pelon, J., Capelle, V., 2013. The seasonal vertical distribution of
the Saharan Air Layer and its modulation by the wind. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 13 (22),
11235–11257.
Velasco-Merino, C., Mateos, D., Toledano, C., Prospero, J.M., Molinie, J., Euphrasie-
Clotilde, L., Gonz�alez, R., Cachorro, V.E., Calle, A., de Frutos, A.M., 2018. Impact of
long-range transport over the Atlantic Ocean on Saharan dust optical and
microphysical properties based on AERONET data. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 18 (13),
9411–9424.
Wang, Q., 2019. Multifractal characterization of air polluted time series in China. Phys. A
Stat. Mech. Appl. 514, 167–180.
Yi, L., Min, L., Horton, R., 2011. Single and joint multifractal analysis of soil particle size
distributions. Pedosphere 21 (1), 75–83.
Zeleke, T.B., Si, B.C., 2004. Scaling properties of topographic indices and crop yield.
Agron. J. 96 (4), 1082–1090.
Zheng-Ying, W., Qiao-Sheng, S., Li-Ya, X., Zuo-Xin, L., Si, B., 2011. Joint multifractal
analysis of scaling relationships between soil water-retention parameters and soil
texture. Pedosphere 21 (3), 373–379.
Zhou, Y., Leung, Y., 2010. Multifractal temporally weighted detrended fluctuation
analysis and its application in the analysis of scaling behavior in temperature series.
J. Stat. Mech. Theory Exp. 2010 (06), P06021.