Towards development of a deposition monitoring network for air pollution of Europe

A monitoring station for atmospheric deposition was designed and constructed using existing methods. Three such stations were applied in a pilot project for a year on three sites in different regions in Europe to estimate local inputs and to validate deposition models which are currently developed for estimation of ecosystem-specific deposition in Europe. The results of this project show that the developed deposition monitoring method is successful in determining the deposition of pollutants and can be applied on a routine basis. The equipment for flux measurements provided continuous high quality data for all major gaseous and particulate pollutants throughout the range of pollution climates present in Central and Northern Europe. The monitoring facility was therefore highly successful. The sites selected were representative of the major ecosystems of Europe and the range of air pollution climates (excepting urban areas and Mediterranean regions).