Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades
Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) levels in ambient air were explored due to their toxicity and deleterious environmental effects. The aim of this study was to assess the time tendencies and spatial changes in Pb and Cd atmospheric deposition in a Central European country with a long history of ambient air...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/1/19 |
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| author | Iva Hůnová Pavel Kurfürst Markéta Schreiberová Leona Vlasáková Hana Škáchová |
| author_facet | Iva Hůnová Pavel Kurfürst Markéta Schreiberová Leona Vlasáková Hana Škáchová |
| author_sort | Iva Hůnová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) levels in ambient air were explored due to their toxicity and deleterious environmental effects. The aim of this study was to assess the time tendencies and spatial changes in Pb and Cd atmospheric deposition in a Central European country with a long history of ambient air pollution. We used measured data on precipitation chemistry and ambient air pollutant concentrations in the Czech Republic (CR) obtained within a nation-wide monitoring network. Our analysis is based on spatial patterns of annual wet-only and dry deposition fluxes constructed for 1996–2021. The results indicated that both Pb and Cd deposition over the CR during the last three decades decreased substantially, about 10 times, the absolute values for Cd being one order of magnitude lower than those for Pb. The wet-only deposition pathway dominated over the dry deposition pathway. This trend reflects the heavy metal (HM) emission reductions in the CR and neighboring countries and is in line with decreasing trends in ambient air HM concentrations in Europe. The spatial patterns showed that the northern industrial portions of the CR were loaded more as compared to the southern parts, and that the extension of affected regions has recently decreased substantially. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:39:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef850023dedc46e4aadd01dab55be890 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:39:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef850023dedc46e4aadd01dab55be8902023-11-30T21:08:15ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-12-011411910.3390/atmos14010019Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three DecadesIva Hůnová0Pavel Kurfürst1Markéta Schreiberová2Leona Vlasáková3Hana Škáchová4Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Na Šabatce 17, 143 06 Prague, Czech RepublicCzech Hydrometeorological Institute, Na Šabatce 17, 143 06 Prague, Czech RepublicCzech Hydrometeorological Institute, Na Šabatce 17, 143 06 Prague, Czech RepublicCzech Hydrometeorological Institute, Na Šabatce 17, 143 06 Prague, Czech RepublicCzech Hydrometeorological Institute, Na Šabatce 17, 143 06 Prague, Czech RepublicLead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) levels in ambient air were explored due to their toxicity and deleterious environmental effects. The aim of this study was to assess the time tendencies and spatial changes in Pb and Cd atmospheric deposition in a Central European country with a long history of ambient air pollution. We used measured data on precipitation chemistry and ambient air pollutant concentrations in the Czech Republic (CR) obtained within a nation-wide monitoring network. Our analysis is based on spatial patterns of annual wet-only and dry deposition fluxes constructed for 1996–2021. The results indicated that both Pb and Cd deposition over the CR during the last three decades decreased substantially, about 10 times, the absolute values for Cd being one order of magnitude lower than those for Pb. The wet-only deposition pathway dominated over the dry deposition pathway. This trend reflects the heavy metal (HM) emission reductions in the CR and neighboring countries and is in line with decreasing trends in ambient air HM concentrations in Europe. The spatial patterns showed that the northern industrial portions of the CR were loaded more as compared to the southern parts, and that the extension of affected regions has recently decreased substantially.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/1/19heavy metalsCzech Republictime tendenciesspatial patterns1996–2021 |
| spellingShingle | Iva Hůnová Pavel Kurfürst Markéta Schreiberová Leona Vlasáková Hana Škáchová Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades Atmosphere heavy metals Czech Republic time tendencies spatial patterns 1996–2021 |
| title | Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades |
| title_full | Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades |
| title_fullStr | Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades |
| title_full_unstemmed | Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades |
| title_short | Atmospheric Deposition of Lead and Cadmium in a Central European Country over the Last Three Decades |
| title_sort | atmospheric deposition of lead and cadmium in a central european country over the last three decades |
| topic | heavy metals Czech Republic time tendencies spatial patterns 1996–2021 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/14/1/19 |
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