Iodine isotopes (127I and 129I) in aerosols at high altitude Alp stations.

Concentrations of gases and particulate matter have been proven to be affected by meteorological and geographical variables from urban locations to high mountain clean air sites. Following our previous research in Vienna, we summarize here new findings about concentration levels of iodine isotopes in aerosols collected at two Alpine meteorological stations, Sonnblick (Austria) and Zugspitze (Germany) during 2001. The present study mainly focuses on the effect of altitude on the anthropogenic concentration of (129)I and on the isotopic ratio (129)I/(127)I. Iodine was separated from matrix elements by using either an anion exchange method or solvent extraction, and was analyzed by ICP-MS and AMS. Over the altitude change from Vienna to Zugspitze and Sonnblick (202 m to 2962 m and 3106 m above sea level), stable iodine level decreased from an average of 0.94 ng m(-3) to 0.52 ng m(-3) and 0.62 ng m(-3), respectively. Similarly, (129)I concentrations at both Alpine stations were about 1 order of magnitude lower (10(4) atoms m(-3)) than values obtained for Vienna (10(5) atoms m(-3)) and reveal a strong vertical concentration gradient of (129)I. A high degree of variability is observed, which is due to wide variation in the origin of air masses. Furthermore, air trajectory analysis demonstrates the importance of large scale air transport mostly from southeast Europe for influencing Sonnblick whereas influence from northwest Europe is strong at Zugspitze. In contrast to (129)I, a higher concentration of (7)Be was found at higher altitude stations compared to Vienna which probably results from its production in the upper atmosphere.

Estimated health impact of a shift from light fuel to residential wood-burning in Upper Austria.

The dependency on carbon-based fossil energy and growing awareness of climate change issues has induced ambitious policy initiatives to promote renewable energy sources for indoor heating. Combustion of regionally available material such as wood is considered a carbon-neutral alternative for oil and gas, but unregulated revival of wood stoves may cause detrimental health effects. For the prognosis of the health impact of air pollution due to the use of wood stoves, Upper Austria served for a case study. On the basis of recent measurements of particulate matter <10 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) and nitrous gases (NO(x)), we compared the air pollution attributable to present energy mix (termed scenario 1) with two alternatives: For scenario 2, we assumed replacement of light fuel oil by either fossil gas or biomass, and for scenario 3, replacement of light fuel oil by biomass only. Compared with the current exposure from scenario 1, the increased annual mean PM10 levels are estimated to lead to 101 (95% CI 56;146) and 174 (95% CI 92;257) additional deaths among 1.4 million inhabitants per year for scenarios 2 and 3, respectively. Without adequate strategies for reducing the emissions of domestic heating facilities, replacement of fossil energy sources could lead to an increased health risk.

Origin of polluted air masses in the Alps. An overview and first results for MONARPOP.

The contribution of ZAMG to MONAROP consists of special weather forecasts to control the SOCs sampling procedure and of the analysis of the specific transport processes for SOCs, which is still in progress. In this paper, air pollutant transport into the Alps is demonstrated by examples of inorganic pollutants: Measurements of NO(x) and ozone provide evidence for air pollutant transport by local wind systems (valley and slope winds), especially at low elevated sites of the Alps. In addition, trajectory analyses for the high elevation sites demonstrate the importance of large scale synoptic air pollutant transport. The effects of these transport processes with different spatial and temporal scales are governed by the physical and chemical properties of the particular pollutant. First results for the high alpine MONARPOP stations show that air masses from east Europe influence mostly Sonnblick (Austria), whereas the influence of the Po basin is strongest at Weissfluhjoch (Switzerland).