Scholarly record

ATMOSPHERIC DRY DEPOSITIONS IN THE SOUTHERN BULGARIAN BLACK SEA COASTAL AREA DURING SUMMER

Emilia Georgieva, Hristina Kirova, Elena Hristova

Abstract

The southern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is characterized by numerous nature protected areas with high biodiversity, picturesque seashore landscapes and small villages that attract many tourists in summer. Despite the fact that the region is distant to big emission sources of anthropogenic pollution, air pollution and deposition can be significant for specific pollutants and seasons [1-2]. The main goal is to discuss recent data for dry depositions of oxidized nitrogen, reduced nitrogen and sulphur for the months of June, July and August of 2018, based both on field campaigns data and modelling results. The chemical analysis of atmospheric dry deposition samples, collected on monthly basis at the synoptic station Ahtopol, indicate prevalence of the chloride anion - 29% in July and 49% in August. Other abundant elements are sulphates, with share of 23% (July) and 8% (August), and nitrates – respectively 16% and 12%. The observational data are discussed in comparison to results of the EMEP MSC-W chemical transport model [3], applied by the Co-operative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe for assessment of European air pollution policy. The modelled dry depositions at Ahtopol for the three summer months have highest values in August: oxidised nitrogen deposition 14.5 mg.m-2, reduced nitrogen deposition 10.9 mg.m-2 and sulphur deposition 9.3 mg.m-2. The highest underestimation by the model is for the sulphur deposition in August – 60%, while the highest overestimation, by a factor of about 4, is for the reduced nitrogen in August. Some comparison to data from other campaigns and from the literature is also provided.

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