Gaseous and particulate air pollutants in the Northeastern Mediterranean Coast

The concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3) and particulate matter were measured for a 6-month period and the concentration of gas phase nitric acid (HNO3) was measured for a 1-month period in the North-eastern Mediterranean atmosphere (Kucuk Calticak, Antalya) using a 'filter pack' system that was developed and optimised in our laboratory. Among all th gas phase pollutants, HNO3 had the lowest concentration (0.42 mug m(-3)) followed by ammonia. Most of the measured parameters showed variation in time depending on strengths of source regions and meteorological conditions. Nitric acid is found mostly in particulate form, but gas to particulate partitioning of SO2 shows seasonal variation. Wind trajectory analyses indicate that the major contribution to the observed concentrations come mostly from Eastern Europe and Blacksea regions as well as the southern sector. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.