Scientists' contributins

Regional Background Air Pollution Monitoring and Related Issues at the Hungarian Meteorological Service

compiled by Laszlo Bozo

Regional background air pollution monitoring activity has quite a long record at HMS. Our first station was put into operation in 1973 at K-puszta, central part of Hungary. Monitoring and related atmospheric research issues had been supervised by Prof. Erno Meszaros by early 90's. Station has joined the monitoring activity of EMEP and GAW.

At present, the fundamental task of the Department of Atmospheric Environment is to monitor the regional background air pollution (trace gases, aerosol particles as well as chemical composition of precipitation) at four sites in Hungary: K-puszta, Nyirjes, Farkasfa and Hortobagy. In addition, methodological guide is provided for the operation of two further stations run by the local Environmental Protectorates: Fertoujlak and Majlatpuszta. Wet deposition of nitrogen and phosphorus over the Lake Balaton is estimated by means of precipitation samples collected at Siofok and Keszthely. Sampling and laboratory analyses are performed on the basis of EMEP and WMO GAW Technical Manuals. Besides our operative activity, experts are involved in several national and international projects like:



Source-receptor investigations in polluted urban atmosphere
(SATURN, COST CITAIR 615)

Principal investigator: dr. Laszlo Bozo

During the past years there has been an outstanding interest in the investigation of urban air pollution problems. It is not surprising since most of the inhabitants of industrialized countries are living in cities suffering from the harmful consequences of local air pollution. Our investigations were focused on the fine particles containing toxic metals: source-receptor computations were performed so that to describe the relative contributions of main source categories (traffic, coal and oil burning, waste incineration etc.) to the receptor profiles. Aerosol samples are taken both in the vicinity of major sources as well as at the receptor points and later analysed by PIXE and XRF involving national and foreign Institutes in the project. It was stated that in the case of the elemental group of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, the contribution of waste incineration in Budapest has dominant contribution. The number of fine aerosol sampling points in Budapest are to be increased in the future in line with the detailed investigation of the connection between the air pollution episodes and the relevant meteorological conditions.


Investigation of atmospheric nitrogen exchange and photochemical cycling processes between atmosphere and forest ecosystem
(BIATEX-2)

Principal Investigator: dr. Laszlo Horvath

By means of concentration measurements carried out at different levels above the forest and the vertical profiles of meteorological parameters the dry deposition velocity of these compounds were determined. The concentration gradient and the turbulent diffusion coefficient were calculated for the determination of the flux. Preliminary results show, that ammonium particles are existing only in the fine coarse fraction, having no detectable dry deposition rate into the forest. In contrast, roughly half of nitrate particles are in the coarse fraction, dry deposition velocities are 0.4 and 1.4 cm/s, in stable and unstable situations, respectively, that are higher than previously expected. Net ammonia deposition was detected (0.3-1.3cm/s), while the dry deposition velocity for nitric acid (0.8-1.8) are also much lower compared to figures in the literature.


Development of numerical accidental models

Principal investigator: Zita Ferenczi

SINAC model was developed by the experts of Central Research Institute for Physics which is suitable to estimate the path of the dispersion puff and the rate of radioactive contamination in the case of a nuclear accident at Paks, Hungary. Input data are provided by the Hungarian Meteorological Service: wind, atmospheric stability and precipitation intensity. Datafile contains information for 1 + 36 time steps: the first one is the real time set of measured data while the proceeding 36 steps are the forecasted ones in hourly temporal resolution. Forecasts are based on ALADIN model runs twice daily: 0000UTC and 1200UTC. Measured and forecasted data are interpolated for the grid used by the SINAC model. In a case of nuclear emergency model is running automatically providing data for decision makers at the Accidental Information Centre. Raw data are supplemented by a computer code to check and display the data for any grid point.

Scientists' contributins

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