Distribution of Suspended Particulate Matter in the Caspian Sea

The distribution of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and chlorophyll a in the Caspian Sea water column from April to November in 2008–2016 is analyzed. It is shown that the spatiotemporal variability of SPM concentration is defined by its sources, especially by the autochthonous (primary production) and allochthonous (particulate river runoff, aerosols) components. The effect of marginal filters of rivers on the volume of coming allochthonous SPM is considered. It is revealed that chlorophyll a is a reliable marker of the autochthonous component of SPM and biogenic sedimentation conditions. The stable vertical stratification defines the distribution of allochthonous and autochthonous SPM in the water column. Vertical profiles of these SPM components in the active layer (its thickness is usually up to ~60 m, more rarely to ~100 m) of the sea are similar in April and October-November and differ much in May-September.     

Integrating Cavity Absorption Meter measurements of dissolved substances and suspended particles in ocean water

We have developed a new device to measure the separate contributions to the spectral absorption coefficient due to a pure liquid, due to the particles suspended in it, and due to the substances dissolved in it. This device, the Integrating Cavity Absorption Meter (ICAM), is essentially independent of scattering effects in the sample. In April 1993, a prototype of the ICAM was field tested on board the research vessel USNS Bartlett. A major part of the cruise track included criss-crossing the area where the Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico at various ranges from the mouth of the river; thus samples were collected from areas of blue, green, and brown/black water. We evaluated 35 seawater samples collected with 5-l Niskin bottles from 22 locations to determine absorption spectra (380–700 nm) of suspended particles and dissolved substances (gelbstoff). Results validate the ICAM as a viable tool for marine optical absorption research. Gelbstoff absorption at 432.5 nm ranged from 0.024 to 0.603 m⁻¹. Over the spectral region 380→560 nm, gelbstoff absorption by each of the samples could be accurately fit to a decaying exponential. The particle absorption spectra are generally characteristic of those of phytoplankton and exhibit a local maximum at 430–440 nm. Absorption values at 432.5 nm ranged from zero to 1.0 m⁻¹. Some samples with moderate particulate absorption, however, did not show the characteristic local maximum of phytoplankton in the blue and instead resembled the characteristic decaying exponential of detritus with a shape similar to that observed in the gelbstoff. The ratio of gelbstoff to particulate absorption at 432.5 nm ranged from 0.46 to 152.     

Urban air pollution: process identification, impact analysis and evaluation of forecast potential

The daily variations in the atmospheric pollutants like suspended particulate matter (SPM), respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) depend on both local meteorological processes and various natural as well as anthropogenic sources and sinks. It was shown in an earlier work (Goswami and Baruah in Mon Wea Rev 136(9):3597?C3607, 2008) that the daily variations in SPM over a location could be simulated quite well by considering daily meteorological fields from NCEP Reanalysis in combination with a model for natural and anthropogenic sources over Delhi. In the present work, we extend the scope of the model to include three other pollutants: RSPM, SO₂ and NO₂. While the basic conservation equations and the meteorological fields are common to all the three (and SPM) pollutants, the sources and sinks for each is modeled in a species-specific manner to obtain maximum skill. As we do not consider active chemistry, the present model provides the minimal dynamics of pollution over an urban location in terms of annual load; the model error is about 10% on the average, with no significant bias for any of the species.     

Water color and its relation to primary production

It is shown both experimentally and theoretically that the depth of the euphotic zone is related to the color of the sea defined as a color index equal to the ratio of the upwelling blue (450 nm) and green (525 nm) nadir daylight just below the sea surface. The relationship is valid for most sea waters where the albedo from the bottom is negligible near the sea surface and where the composition of suspended and dissolved matter is not largely determined either by water drainage from land or by turbidity currents. The standing stock of phytoplankton and its primary productivity within the euphotic zone can approximately be given in terms of the color of the sea. The accuracy in determining each of the above two biological quantities from color measurements at the sea surface is not satisfactory at present. This holds particularly true when the color of the sea is measured remotely by present satellite techniques.     

Advection,Surface Area,and Sediment Load of the Fraser River Plume Under Variable Wind and River Forcing

The Fraser River is the source of most particulate matter in the Strait of Georgia, and its dispersal is modulated by the Fraser’s plume. Here we examine the plume’s shape, location, and area, and the variation of these parameters with changes in wind and river forcing by examining a 13-year time series of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery for the concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM). Plume shape and its variations are quantified by dividing the 904 images in this time series into subsets showing conditions under specified wind and river flow conditions and forming a composite image for each subset. Quantitative analysis of scalar quantities like plume area and mean plume SPM are based on calculated values for all individual images. The plume area increases linearly with river flow, changing by a factor of 10 between lowest and highest flows. Mean plume SPM also changes with flow but only by a factor of two. The surface area of the plume is almost completely unaffected by wind conditions. Plume location, however, is very sensitive to both wind speed and direction. It can reach across the Strait at highest river flows and is advected either northwest or southeast along the Strait in the same direction as winds on daily time scales. We also estimate the residence time of sediment in the plume to be only a few days, allowing the plume itself to reshape rapidly over short time scales in response to weather conditions.     

Correlation study between suspended particulate matter and DOAS data

Continuous data of aerosol optical thickness monitored using differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) are correlated with the concentration of ground-measured suspended particulate matter (SPM). A high correlation is found between the DOAS and the ground SPM data, making it possible to calculate the mass extinction efficiency of the aerosols in the atmosphere. It is found that the value of mean mass extinction efficiency (MEE) varies over a range of 2.6–13.7m2 g?1, with smaller and larger values occurring for size distributions dominated by coarse and fine particles, respectively.     

Aerosol properties and air pollutants over an urban area

For a better understanding of urban aerosols, sun/sky photometry has been undertaken at the Kinki University campus in Higashi-Osaka as a NASA/AERONET station since 2002. A new instrument, the SPM-613D (Kimoto Electric), has been taking measurements at the same site since March 15, 2004. The relationship between aerosol properties obtained from radiometry with AERONET and the SPM measurements is examined. It is found that there is a linear correlation between SPM concentrations and aerosol properties, which indicates that aerosol characteristics can be estimated from SPM data, and vice versa.It is also shown that the air quality of the Higashi-Osaka site is poor due to not only the anthropogenic particles by local emissions, such as diesel vehicles and chemical industries, but also due to the dust particles coming from continental desert areas by large scale climatic conditions.     

Aerosol properties and air pollutants over an urban area

For a better understanding of urban aerosols, sun/sky photometry has been undertaken at the Kinki University campus in Higashi-Osaka as a NASA/AERONET station since 2002. A new instrument, the SPM-613D (Kimoto Electric), has been taking measurements at the same site since March 15, 2004. The relationship between aerosol properties obtained from radiometry with AERONET and the SPM measurements is examined. It is found that there is a linear correlation between SPM concentrations and aerosol properties, which indicates that aerosol characteristics can be estimated from SPM data, and vice versa.It is also shown that the air quality of the Higashi-Osaka site is poor due to not only the anthropogenic particles by local emissions, such as diesel vehicles and chemical industries, but also due to the dust particles coming from continental desert areas by large scale climatic conditions.     

Biogenic and anthropogenic organic matter in aerosol over continental Europe: source characterization in the east Baltic region

An Aerodyne quadruple aerosol mass spectrometer (Q-AMS) has been used to provide on-line measurements of size dependent chemical composition of fine aerosol particles (PM₁) at the Air Pollution Research Station in Preila, Lithuania, representing the east Baltic region. The size dependent chemical composition measurements by AMS have revealed that in marine air masses 118?nm mode organics-containing particles were fresher compared to sulfate-containing particles (295?nm), likely originated as secondary aerosol from forest emissions or produced by primary sea spray over the Baltic Sea. In polluted continental air masses sulfate and organics were highly internally mixed and aged. The mass spectral results indicated that the major components of organic compounds were oxygenated organic species with strong signals at m/z 18, 43, 44 with several specific features. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) of AMS organic mass spectral data has identified three factors: aged oxygenated low-volatility organic aerosol (LV-OOA), less oxygenated semi-volatile organic aerosol (SV-OOA), and biogenic organic aerosol (BGOA) of either terrestrial or marine origin. The measurements were compared with a real-time particulate matter Beta Absorption Monitor (Thermo ESM Andersen) and Micro Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) data. The intercomparison showed a good correlation and a stable ratio between PM₁ and PM_2.5 concentrations. A comparison of the on-line Q-AMS data and the off-line MOUDI fine particle (<1???m) data yielded a reasonable agreement in size distributions but not the absolute mass concentrations due to sampling conditions, evaporation of acidic species from sampling substrates and bounce of the particles in the MOUDI.     

长三角工业区夏季近地层臭氧和颗粒物污染相互关系研究

利用2013年5月15日到8月31日南京江北工业区（长三角典型工业区）同步的观测资料分析了近地层臭氧（O₃）和细颗粒物（PM_2.5）、气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）的变化特征及相互间的关系,并结合光化学箱模式分析了AOD对近地层O₃生成的影响。结果表明,观测期间PM_2.5平均质量浓度为56.2±20.1 μg m-3;AOD（500 nm）均值为1.4±0.9;波长指数α（440~870 nm）均值为1.0±0.3。PM_2.5质量浓度24 h均值超国家二级标准20.2%,超标时AOD均值增加14.7%,α平均值增加23.9%,O₃体积分数均值减少12.3%。O₃超国家二级标准10.1%,超标时段AOD增加34.9%,α变化不显著。高温低湿条件下,O₃日变化峰值（y）和PM_2.5质量浓度（x）存在较高的线性相关。相对湿度＜60%时,两者拟合曲线为y＝0.97x+43.96（拟合度R2=0.60）,温度＞32°C时,两者拟合方程为y＝1.24x+30.61（R2＝0.64）。夏季长三角工业区呈现高浓度O₃与高浓度PM_2.5叠加的大气复合污染。O₃日变化峰值和AOD变化呈显著负相关。模拟结果显示,O₃日变化峰值（y）和AOD（x）呈现极高的负相关[y＝－34.28x+181.62,R2 = 0.93或y＝220.62·exp (－x/3.17)－19.50,R2＝0.99]。     

Numerical quantification of sources and phase partitioning of chemical species in cloud: application to wintertime anthropogenic air masses at the Puy de Dôme station

The Model of Multiphase Cloud Chemistry M2C2 has recently been extended to account for nucleation scavenging of aerosol particles in the cloud water chemical composition. This extended version has been applied to multiphase measurements available at the Puy de Dôme station for typical wintertime anthropogenic air masses. The simulated ion concentrations in cloud water are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The analysis of the sources of the chemical species in cloud water shows an important contribution from nucleation scavenging of particles which prevails for nitrate, sulphate and ammonium. Moreover, the simulation shows that iron, which comes only from the dissolution of aerosol particles in cloud water, has a significant contribution in the hydroxyl radical production. Finally, the simulated phase partitioning of chemical species in cloud are compared with measurements. Numerical results show an underestimation of interstitial particulate phase fraction with respect to the measurements, which could be due to an overestimation of activated mass by the model. However, the simulated number scavenging efficiency of particles agrees well with the measured value of 40% of total number of aerosol particles activated in cloud droplets. Concerning the origin of chemical species in cloud water, the model reproduces quite well the contribution of gas and aerosol scavenging estimated from measurements. In addition, the simulation provides the contribution of in-cloud chemical reactivity to cloud water concentrations.     

近十年北京气溶胶光学特性及直接辐射强迫研究

利用SBDART（Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer）辐射传输模式,结合AERONET（Aerosol Robotic Network）北京站观测的气溶胶光学特性数据,评估北京地区近十年气溶胶以及黑碳气溶胶的辐射强迫,主要研究结果如下:北京近十年气溶胶平均光学厚度（aerosol optical depth, AOD_440nm）为0.61±0.56,?ngstr?m波长指数均值为1.09,单次散射反照率（single scattering albedo, SSA_440nm）的均值为0.888±0.045;AOD呈现下降趋势,SSA呈上升趋势,表明该区域气溶胶污染有所改善。晴空条件下,大气层顶、地面和大气的气溶胶直接辐射强迫多年均值分别为?24.91±19.80 W m?2、?65.52±43.78 W m?2、40.61±28.62 W m?2,即气溶胶对大气层顶和地表为冷却效应,对大气产生加热作用。气溶胶和黑碳气溶胶的直接辐射强迫绝对值的年际变化表现为微弱的下降趋势,季节变化特征为春夏季高,冬季低,这与AOD的变化规律一致。并且黑碳气溶胶的直接辐射强迫下降趋势与SSA的上升趋势呈现较好的反位相关系。     

In-Situ Measurements of Cloud-Precipitation Microphysics in the East Asian Monsoon Region Since 1960

A large number of in-situ measurements of cloud-precipitation microphysical properties have been made since 1960, including measurements of particle size distribution, particle concentration, and liquid water content of clouds and rain. These measurements have contributed to considerable progress in understanding microphysical processes in clouds and precipitation and significant improvements in parameterizations of cloud microphysics in numerical models. This work reviews key findings regarding cloud-precipitation microphysics over China. The total number concentrations of various particles vary significantly, with certain characteristic spatial scales. The size distributions of cloud droplets in stratiform clouds can generally be fit with gamma distributions, but the fit parameters cover a wide range. Raindrop size distributions(RSDs)associated with stratiform clouds can be fit with either exponential or gamma distributions, while RSDs associated with convective or mixed stratiform-cumuliform clouds are best fit with gamma distributions.Concentrations of ice nuclei(IN) over China are higher than those observed over other regions, and increase exponentially as temperature decreases. The particle size distributions of ice crystals, snow crystals, and hailstones sampled at a variety of locations can be reliably approximated by using exponential distributions,while aerosol particle size distributions are best described as the sum of a modified gamma distribution and a Junge power-law distribution. These results are helpful for evaluating and improving the fidelity of physical processes and hydrometeor fields simulated by microphysical parameterizations. The comprehensive summary and analysis of previous work presented here also provide useful guidelines for the design of future observational programs.     

Particulate content of savanna fire emissions

As part of the FOS-DECAFE experiment at Lamto (Ivory Coast) in January 1991, various aerosol samples were collected at ground level near prescribed fires or under local background conditions, to characterize the emissions of particulate matter from the burning of savanna vegetation. This paper deals with total aerosol (TPM) and carbon measurements. Detailed trace element and polycyclic hydrocarbon data are discussed in other papers presented in this issue.Near the fire plumes, the aerosols from biomass burning are primarily of a carbonaceous nature (C%70% of the aerosol mass) and consist predominantly of submicron particles (more than 90% in mass.) They are characterized by their organic nature (black to total carbon ratio Cb/Ct in the range 3–20%) and their high potassium content (K/Cb0.6). These aerosols undergo aging during their first minutes in the atmosphere causing slight alterations in their size distribution and chemical composition. However, they remain enriched in potassium (K/Cb=0.21) and pyrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, such that both of these species may be used as tracers of savanna burning aerosols. We show that during this period of the year, the background atmosphere experiences severe pollution from both terrigenous sources and regional biomass burning (44% of the aerosol). Daynight variations of the background carbon concentrations suggest that fire ignition and spreading occur primarily during the day. Simultaneous TPM and CO₂ real-time measurements point to a temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the burning so that the ratio of the above background concentrations (TPM/CO₂) varies from 2 to 400 g/kg C. Smoldering processes are intense sources of particles but particulate emissions may also be important during the rapidly spreading heading fires in connection with the generation of heavy brown smoke. We propose emission factor values (EF) for aerosols from the savanna biomass burning aerosols: EF (TPM)=11.4±4.6 and 69±25 g/kg C_{dry plant} and EF(Ct)=7.4±3.4 and 56±16 g C/kg C_{dry plant} for flaming and smoldering processes respectively. In these estimates, the range of uncertainty is mostly due to the intra-fire variability. These values are significantly lower than those reported in the literature for the combustion of other types of vegetation. But due to the large amounts of vegetation biomass being burnt in African savannas, the annual flux of particulate carbon into the atmosphere is estimated to be of the order of 8 Tg C, which rivals particulate carbon emissions from anthropogenic activities in temperate regions.     

Optical and physical characterization of ��Iraqi freedom�� dust storm, a case study

Kuwait was exposed to a severe dust storm on 19 March 2003, the eve of operation ??Iraqi Freedom??. Three days of dust events (19, 26, 27 March) were analyzed for their aerosol optical and physical properties using ground-based and satellite-retrieved measurements. Ground-based measurements of aerosol optical depth (or thickness; AOD or AOT) at 675?nm, ?? ₆₅₇, ?ngstrom coefficient ?? _936/657, particulate matter of diameter 10???m or less, PM₁₀ (??g/m³), and meteorological parameters were analyzed for March 2003. AOT exceeded 3 for the 3?days of interest and PM₁₀ concentrations reached as high value as 2,457???g/m³ on 19 March dust storm day. Retrieved aerosol characteristics from space using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) on board Terra and Aqua satellite were examined against ground-based measurements. A strong correlation was found between ground-based measurements of ?? ₆₇₅ and the Terra-MODIS retrieved AOD₅₅₀. The synoptic of the dust storm were analyzed and source regions were identified using back trajectory analysis and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer Aerosol Index.     

1960年以来东亚季风区云-降水微物理的直接观测研究

云-降水的直接观测结果是云微物理参数化的重要依据。自1960年以来,处于东亚季风影响下的中国实施了大量对云-降水微物理参数的观测和研究,旨在加深对云-降水微物理过程的认识,从而改进数值模式中云微物理参数化方案和指导人工影响天气作业。云-降水微物理参数包括气溶胶、冰核、云滴、雨滴、冰晶、雪晶、冰雹等粒子浓度和谱分布,以及云滴、雨滴含水量等。中国已有云-降水微物理参数的成果可归纳为:(1)通常云-降水微物理粒子浓度变化较大,但总体变化有一定的范围;(2)采用Γ函数拟合云滴谱更接近实际谱,但不同拟合谱参数差异较大;(3)可用指数函数和Γ函数来拟合层状云降水雨滴谱,Γ函数拟合积云和层积混合云降水雨滴谱精度更高;(4)中国冰核浓度较高,冰核浓度随温度的降低近似成指数变化;(5)冰晶谱、雪晶谱、冰雹谱通常采用指数函数来描述;(6)通常使用荣格(Junge)和Γ函数来分段描述气溶胶粒子谱拟合误差更小。由于云-降水过程及其反馈作用描述不准确是数值模式预报结果不确定性的最大因素,中国正在不断地推进云降水的微物理观测研究,以期进一步加深对东亚季风区云-降水微物理特征的认识,从而为模式中微物理参数化方案的改进提供观测依据和科学指导。基于数值预报模式中云微物理过程参数化发展的需要,总结了中国1960年以来云-降水微物理直接观测的研究成果,可为东亚地区云-降水微物理研究及其模式参数化方案的改进提供观测依据。此外,针对云微物理参化发展的需求,结合过去已有的大量观测提出了几点建议,为今后云-降水物理综合性观测方案的设计提供参考。     

A PCSWMM/GIS-based water balance model for the Reesor Creek watershed

This paper presents the results of a study of a watershed experiencing the pressures of land-use change resulting from urban development. The study was undertaken to facilitate an understanding of the water balance of the watershed by developing and implementing watershed procedures that are to be addressed in a watershed plan. There were three components to the research: firstly, observation of the effects of spatially distributed rainfall measurements and their effect on modelling were assessed. Secondly, the model was then calibrated by observing how differing techniques can discretize both the landscape (e.g. land-use and soil type) and incoming precipitation. Finally, a modelling methodology was developed to integrate a Geographic Information System and a hydrologic model (e.g. Storm Water Management Model) in a water balance analysis on a watershed basis. Results show that, under certain conditions, kriging spatially distributed rainfall values can help predict rainfall at ungauged (virtual) sites. Discretization of a watershed was found to affect the differences between measured and generated runoff volumes; however, this can be refined with calibration. It was seen that a strong correlation between measured and predicted rainfall values did not always guarantee a strong relationship between measured and generated runoff Recommendations include the use of a longer time series of rainfall, streamflow and predicted rainfall to observe temporal variations, and the need to assess the differences in modelled rainfall values generated by various surface interpolation methods (e.g. Inverse Distance Weighting and other kriging options) currently available in GIS packages.     

Role of the volatile fraction of submicron marine aerosol on its hygroscopic properties

The hygroscopic growth factor (HGF) of 85 nm and 20 nm marine aerosol particles was measured during January 2006 for a three-week period within the frame of the EU FP6 project MAP (Marine Aerosol Production) winter campaign at the coastal site of Mace Head, using the TDMA technique. The results are compared to aerosol particles produced in a simulation tank by bubbling air through sea water sampled near the station, and through synthetic sea water (inorganic salts). This simulation is assimilated to primary production. Aitken and mode particles (20 nm) and accumulation mode particles (85 nm) both show HGF of 1.92 and 2.01 for particles generated through bubbling in natural and artificial sea water respectively. In the Aitken mode, the marine particles sampled in the atmosphere shows a monomodal HGF slightly lower than the one measured for sea salt particles artificially produced by bubble bursting in natural sea water (HGF = 1.83). This is also the case for the more hygroscopic mode of accumulation mode particles. In addition, the HGF of 85 nm particles observed in the atmosphere during clean marine sectors exhibits half of its population with a 1.4 HGF. An external mixture of the accumulation mode marine particles indicates a secondary source of this size of particles, a partial processing during transport, or an inhomogeneity of the sea water composition. A gentle 90 °C thermo-desorption results in a significant decrease of the number fraction of moderately hygroscopic (HGF = 1.4) particles in the accumulation mode to the benefit of the seasalt mode, pointing to the presence of semi-volatile compounds with pronounced hydrophobic properties. The thermo-desorption has no effect on the HGF of bubble generated aerosols, neither for synthetic or natural sea water, nor on the atmospheric Aitken mode, indicating that these hydrophobic compounds are secondarily integrated in the particulate phase. No difference between night and day samples is observed on the natural marine aerosols regarding hygroscopicity, but a more pronounced sensitivity to volatilization of the 1.4 HGF mode in the accumulation mode is observed during the day.     

烟花爆竹燃放对天津市空气质量的影响研究

为了研究烟花爆竹燃放对空气质量的影响,利用动态滤膜校准系统-微量震荡天平法颗粒物分析仪、大气细颗粒化学组分在线离子色谱监测仪、有机碳（OC）/元素碳（EC）在线分析仪、气态污染物分析仪、常规自动气象站并结合云高仪和微波辐射计等设备于2015年2月18日至3月7日对天津市细颗粒物（PM2.5）及其主要化学组分,气态污染物（SO₂、NO₂、CO和O₃）和气象参数进行连续观测。本文选取3个污染事件作为研究重点进行分析,研究发现:烟花爆竹禁放和限放政策导致除夕夜烟花爆竹燃放量减少,PM2.5峰值与2014年相比明显下降;烟花爆竹禁放和限放区的设立导致天津市PM2.5质量浓度在烟花爆竹密集燃放期间存在明显的空间差异;站点之间小时平均值差异最高达到394 μg/m3。受烟花爆竹燃放的影响,距地面80 m以下颗粒物后向散射强度相近,表明80 m以下颗粒物呈均匀分布。污染事件1是由于烟花爆竹密集燃放引起的,PM2.5主要化学组分为K+、SO₄2-和Cl-,同时SO₂和CO质量浓度显著升高;但EC和OC质量浓度并未明显增加。污染事件2的形成是由于不利的气象条件（逆温、逆湿、下沉气流和较高的相对湿度）促进了SO₂和NO_x在烟花爆竹排放的颗粒物表面发生非均相化学反应,导致SO₄2-和NO₃-浓度快速增加。污染事件3由元宵节烟花爆竹燃放引发,而后呈现二次无机组分与臭氧协同增长的复合型污染特征;此外区域传输对污染事件3也有重要贡献。     

Measurements of Trace Substances in the Arctic Troposphere as Potential Precursors and Constituents of Arctic Haze

During two measuring campaigns in early spring 1994 and 1995 (March/April) and one campaign in summer 1994, measurements of ozone, PAN, sulfur dioxide, nitric acid, and particulate nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium (only 1995) were recorded in the Arctic. Observations were made by aircraft at various sites in the eastern and western Arctic. Ozone concentrations showed a steady increase with altitude both in spring and summer. During five flights in springtime, low ozone events (LOEs) could be observed near the surface and up to altitudes of 2000 m. SO₂ background concentrations, ranging from detection limit (0.5 nmol/m³) to 5 nmol/m³, were observed during both spring and summer. Distinct maxima up to 55 nmol/m³ in lower altitudes were only obtained in springtime. Concentrations of the organic nitrate PAN were within a similar range as those of the inorganic nitrate HNO₃ during spring campaigns. In contrast, concentrations of particulate nitrate were one half an order of magnitude lower. HNO₃ concentrations increased significantly with altitude. Evidently, HNO₃ was intruded from the stratosphere into the troposphere. Sulfate concentrations ranged between 5 and 30 nmol/m³; ammonium concentrations were obtained within a range from 10 to 50 nmol/m³.