S. Cañete

Assessment of ozone variations and meteorological effects in an urban area in the Mediterranean Coast

Ozone concentrations are valuable indicators of possible health and environmental impacts. However, they are also used to monitor changes and trends in the sources of both ozone and its precursors. For this purpose, the influence of meteorological variables is a confusing factor. This study presents an analysis of a year of ozone concentrations measured in a coastal Spanish city. Firstly, the aim of this study was to perceive the daily, monthly and seasonal variation patterns of ozone concentrations. Diurnal cycles are presented by season and the fit of the data to a normal distribution is tested. In order to assess ozone behaviour under temperate weather conditions, local meteorological variables (wind direction and speed, temperature, relative humidity, pressure and rainfall) were monitored together with ozone concentrations. The main relationships we could observe in these analyses were then used to obtain a regression equation linking diurnal ozone concentrations in summer with meteorological parameters.

Atmospheric deposition of 7Be at a coastal Mediterranean station

The bulk 7Be depositional flux was measured at Malaga (4°28′8″W; 36°43′40″N), a coastal Mediterranean station in the south of Spain, from 1992 to 1999. The annual 7Be depositional flux varied between 188 and 585 Bq m−2 yr−1 with a mean of 412 Bq m−2 yr−1, reflecting a Mediterranean climate where two well-recognized wet and dry periods are dominant. Data on the 7Be depositional flux in Malaga show that the seasonal variation is not uniform from year to year and the amount of precipitation primarily controls the depositional fluxes. This study shows that the 7Be depositional fluxes during fall and winter were minimized and that the fallout maxima were confined to either spring and/or summer, possibly reflecting stratosphere/troposphere exchange. A comparison of our measurements and other data obtained at different locations in the world was also made.

Gross-α and gross-β activities in airborne particulate samples. Analysis and prediction models

Measurements of gross-a and gross-b activities were made every week during the years 1992‐1997 for airborne particulate samples collected using air filters at a clear site. The data are suAciently numerous to allow the examination of variations in time and by these measurements to establish several features that should be important in understanding any trends of atmospheric radioactivity. Two models were used to predict the gross-a and gross-b activities. A good agreement between the results of these models and the measurements was highlighted. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

7Be and 210Pb concentrations in air in Málaga (Spain)

Measurements of 7Be and 210Pb in atmospheric air (1 m above the ground) have been carried out each week over one and a half year period. The method used to determine 7Be and 210Pb activities is based on the total amount of radioactive aerosols filtered from the air. The activities of 7Be and 210Pb were determined by a hyper-pure germanium detector using standard gamma-spectrometry. The average weekly concentrations of 7Be were in the range of 1.21-12.1 mBq.m-3 and for 210Pb in the range of 0.8-2.4 mBq.m-3. The weekly variations were discussed in relation to various meteorological factors. It can be said that our results showed a prevailing influence of weekly average temperature for 7Be concentration and the weight of aerosols and wind speed for 210Pb oncentrations.

Analysis Of Atmospheric Ozone Measurements In An Urban Area

From November 1996 to October 1997 we measured the ozone concentrations in an urban area of the city of Malaga. The city is in the south-east region of Spain on the Mediterranean coast and it is surrounded by mountains to the north. The climate in Malaga is moderate, between temperate and warm and it has a low rainfall. Ozone data has been continuously collected every two minutes. In this paper, we present results from the intensive measurements obtained during this first field study. The objective is to perceive the seasonal and daily variation patterns of ozone concentrations and to identify which meteorological parameters are strongly associated with the fluctuations of ozone concentration. The hourly average concentrations throughout the year begin to increase in April, reaching the maximum values in the summer months of June to September, and decreasing after November. The daily variations of the ozone concentrations mostly have the usual features with the afternoon maximum and the night time minimum. This paper also examines ozone concentrations and meteorology in Malaga city as local meteorological conditions may introduce distortions into the classical schemes. The relationships observed in these analyses are then used to construct a regression model relating ozone concentrations to meteorology. Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 23,