Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A 10-year study of background surface ozone concentrations on the island of Gozo in the Central Mediterranean

  • Published:
Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A 10-year study of surface ozone mixing ratios in the Central Mediterranean was conducted based on continuous ozone measurements from 1997 to 2006 by a background regional Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station on the island of Gozo. The mean annual maximum mixing ratio is of the order of 66 ppbv in April–May with a broad secondary maximum of 64 ppbv in July–September. No long-term increase or decrease in the background level of surface ozone could be observed over the last 10 years. This is contrary to observations made in the Eastern Mediterranean, where a slow decrease in the background ozone mixing ratio was observed over the past 7 years. Despite the very high average annual ozone mixing ratio exceeding 50 ppbv—in fact, the highest average background ozone mixing ratio ever measured in Europe—, the diurnal O 3 max/O 3 min index of <1.40 indicates that the island of Gozo is a good site for measuring background surface ozone. However, frequent photosmog events from June to September during the past 10 years with ozone mixing ratios exceeding 90 ppbv indicate that the Central Mediterranean is prone to long-range transport of air pollutants from Europe by northerly winds. This was particularly evident during the so-called “August heatwave” of the year 2003 when the overall ozone mixing ratio was 4.6 ppbv higher than the average of all other 9 months of August since 1997. Air mass back-trajectory analysis of the August 2003 photosmog episodes on Gozo confirmed that ozone pollution originated from the European continent. Regression analysis was used to analyse the 10-year data set in order to model the behaviour of the ozone mixing ratio in terms of the meteorological parameters of wind speed, relative humidity, global radiation, temperature, month of year, wind sector, atmospheric pressure, and time of day (predictors). Most of these predictors were found to significantly affect the ozone mixing ratios. From March to November, the monthly average of the AOT40 threshold value for the protection of crops and vegetation against ozone was constantly exceeded on Gozo during the past 10 years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altshuller, A.P., Bufalini, J.J.: Photochemical aspects of air pollution: a review. Environ. Sci. Technol. 5, 39–64 (1972). doi:10.1021/es60048a001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashmore, M., Fuhrer, J.: New directions: use and abuse of the AOT40 concept. Atmos. Environ. 34, 1157–1159 (2000). doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(99)00529-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashmore, M., Emberson, L., Karlsson, P.E., Pleijel, H.: New directions: a new generation of ozone critical levels for the protection of vegetation in Europe. Atmos. Environ. 38, 2213–2214 (2004). doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.02.029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, E., Blackburn, M., Harrison, G., Hoskins, B., Methven, J.: Factors contributing to the summer 2003 European heatwave. Weather 59(8), 217–223 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, J., Grennfelt, P.: Distribution of ozone over Europe. In: Borrell, P.M., Borrell, P., Cvitas, T., Seiler, W. (ed.) Proc. EUROTRAC Symp. 1992, pp. 43–58. SPB Academic, The Hague, The Netherlands (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chetcuti, D., Buhagiar, A., Schembri, P.J., Ventura, F.: The climate of the Maltese Islands—a review, pp. 30–33. Malta University Press, Msida (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, J.J., Fishbeck, P.S., Pandis, S.N.: Global nitrogen and sulphur inventories for oceangoing ships. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 3457–3470 (1999). doi:10.1029/1998JD100040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, J.J., Fishbeck, P.S.: Emissions from ships. Science 298, 823–824 (1997). doi:10.1126/science.278.5339.823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cristofanelli, P., Bonasoni, P., Carboni, G., Calzolari, F., Casarola, L., Zauli Sajani, S., et al.: Anomalous high ozone concentrations recorded at a high mountain station in Italy in summer 2003. Atmos. Environ. 41, 1383–1394 (2007). doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.10.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cvitas, T., Klasinc, L.: Measurement of tropospheric ozone in the Eastern Mediterranean. Boll. Geofisico 16, 521–527 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cvitas, T., Kezele, N., Klasinc, L., Lisac, J.: Tropospheric ozone measurements in Croatia. Pure Appl. Chem. 67, 1450–1453 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cvitas, T., Kezele, N., Klasinc, L.: Boundary layer ozone in Croatia. J. Atmos. Chem. 28, 125–134 (1997). doi:10.1023/A:1005845232426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Santis, F.: New directions: will a new European vegetation ozone standard be fair to all European countries? Atmos. Environ. 33, 3873–3874 (1999). doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(99)00110-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Santis, F.: Reply to “Use and abuse of the AOT40 concept” by M. Ashmore and J. Fuhrer. Atmos. Environ. 34, 1158–1159 (2000). doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(99)00530-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickerson, R.R., Delany, A.C.: Modification of a commercial gas filter Correlation CO Detector for enhanced sensitivity. J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol. 5, 424–431 (1988). doi:10.1175/1520-0426(1988)005<0424:MOACGF>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP): Transboundary photooxidant air pollution in Europe: calculations of tropospheric ozone and comparison with observations, Report EMEP Meteorological Synthesizing Centre–West. NILU, Norway (1998), July

    Google Scholar 

  • EU Directive 2002/3 of the European Parliament and of the Council (11 Febr. 2002) relating to ozone in ambient air. Official Journal of the European Communities, Annex 1, 9th March 2002

  • Fink, A.H., Brucher, T., Kruger, A., Leckebush, G.C., Pinto, J.G., Ulbrich, U.: The 2003 European summer heatwave and drought—synoptic diagnosis and impacts. Weather 59(8), 209–215 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, H., Kormann, R., Klüpfel, T., Gurk, C., Königstedt, R., Parchatka, U., Mühle, J., Rhee, T.S., Brenninkmeijer, C.A.M., Bonasoni, P., Sohl, A.: Ozone production and trace gas correlations during the June 2000 MINATROC intensive measurement campaign at Mt. Cimone. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 3, 725–738 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerasopoulos, E., Kouvarakis, G., Vrekoussis, M., Kanakidou, M., Mihalopoulos, N.: Ozone variability in the marine boundary layer of the Eastern Mediterranean based on 7-year observations. J. Geophys. Res. 110(No. D15), D15309 (2005). doi:10.1029/2005JD005991

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güsten, H.: Formation, transport, and control of photochemical smog. In: Hutzinger, O. (ed.) The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Vol 4/ Part A—Air Pollution, pp. 53–106. Springer, Berlin, Germany (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  • Güsten, H., Heinrich, G., Mönnich, E., Sprung, D., Ramadan, A.B., EzzEl-Din, M.R.M., Ahmed, D.M., Hassan, G.K.Y.: On-line measurements of ozone surface fluxes. Part II: Surface-level ozone fluxes onto the Sahara desert. Atmos. Environ. 30, 911–918 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HYSPLIT 4 (HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) Model 1997. Web address: http://www.arl.noaa.gov./ready/hysplit4.html, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD, USA

  • Jonson, J.E., Simpson, D., Fagerli, H., Solberg, S.: Can we explain the trends in European ozone levels? Atmos. Chem. Phys. 6, 51–66 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kallos, G., Kotroni, V., Lagouvardos, K., Papadopoulos, A.: On the long-range transport of air pollutants from Europe to Africa. Geophys. Res. Lett. 25, 619–622 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouvarakis, G., Tsigardis, K., Kanakidou, M., Mihalopoulos, N.: Temporal variations of surface regional background ozone over Crete island in the southeast Mediterranean. J. Geophys. Res. 105(No. D4), 4399–4407 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouvarakis, G., Vrekoussis, M., Mihalopoulos, N., Kourtidis, K., Rappenglueck, B., Gerasopoulos, E., Zerefos, C.: Spatial and temporal variability of tropospheric ozone in the boundary layer above the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). J. Geophys. Res. 107(No. D18), 8137 (2002). doi:10.1029/2000JD000081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, H.H.: Malta’s sea breezes. Weather 10, 256–264 (1955)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, M.G., Crutzen, P.J.: Influence of NOx emissions from ships on tropospheric photochemistry and climate. Nature 402, 167–170 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lelieveld, J., and 30 co-authors: Global air pollution crossroads over the Mediterranean. Science 298, 794–799 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Löye Pilot, M.D., Mihalopoulos, N., Kouvarakis, G., Markaki, Z., Oikonomou, C., Nolle, M., Ellul, R.: One-year data set of atmospheric deposition of Saharan dust and nutrients at Malta. ADIOS Report to European Commission. Deliverable No. 44. February (2004)

  • Marmer, E., Langmann, B.: Impact of ship emissions on the Mediterranean summertime pollution and climate: a regional model study. Atmos. Environ. 39, 4659–4669 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millan, M.M., Sanz, M.J., Salvador, R., Mantilla, E.: Atmospheric dynamics and ozone cycles related to nitrogen deposition in the western Mediterranean. Environ. Pollut. 118, 167–186 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monks, P.S.: A review of the observations and origins of the spring ozone maximum. Atmos. Environ. 34, 3545–3561 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakicenovic, N.: IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios. A special report of working group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, p. 599. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolle, M., Ellul, R., Güsten, H., Heinrich, G.: Long term background ozone and carbon monoxide measurements on the Maltese Islands. Proceedings of 8th European Symposium on the Physico Chemical Behaviour of Atmospheric Pollutants. September 2001, Turin, Italy (2001)

  • Nolle, M., Ellul, R., Heinrich, G., Güsten, H.: A long term study of background ozone concentrations in the Central Mediterranean—diurnal and seasonal variations on the island of Gozo. Atmos. Environ. 36, 1391–1402 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolle, M., Ellul, R., Ventura, F., Güsten, H.: A study of historical surface ozone measurements (1884–1900) on the island of Gozo in the central Mediterranean. Atmos. Environ. 39, 5608–5618 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S.R., Johnson, D.W., Bauer, K.N., Wood, R.: Modification of the aerosol size distribution within exhaust plumes produced by diesel powered ships. J. Geophys. Res. 106(D9), 9827–9842 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheel, H.E., Aresbough, H., Geiss, H., Gormiscek, B., Granby, K., Haszpra, L., Klasinc, L., Kley, D., Laurila, T., Lindskog, A., Roemer, M., Schmitt, R., Simmond, P., Solberg, S., Toupande, G.: On the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of lower tropospheric ozone over Europe. J. Atmos. Chem. 28, 11–28 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solberg, S., Coddeville, P., Forster, C., Hov, Ø., Orsolini, Y., Uhse, K.: European surface ozone in the extreme summer 2003. Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss. 5, 9003–9038 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency Report No. 454/R-99-009, July 1999, Guideline for developing an ozone forecasting program. Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA

  • Vingarzan, R.: A review of surface ozone background levels and trends. Atmos. Environ. 38, 3431–3442 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vautard, R., Honore, C., Beekman, M., Rouil, L.: Simulation of ozone during the August 2003 heat wave and emission control scenarios. Atmos. Environ. 39, 2957–2967 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weather in the Mediterranean: Vol 1 (2nd Edition), General Meteorology, Air Ministry, Meteorological Office, H.M.S.O. Code No. 40-142-1-62, UK (1962)

  • WHO (World Health Organization) Report: Air Quality Guidelines for Europe. WHO Regional Publications, European Series No. 23; World Health Organization, Copenhagen (1987)

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Mr Saviour Porter from the Malta Meteorological Office, Malta International Airport as well as Mr Charles Yousif and Mr Mario Fsadni from the Institute of Energy Technology of the University of Malta for supplying the pressure and radiation measurements missing in our own data set.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Malta, Msida, MSD 2080, Malta

    Martin Saliba & Raymond Ellul

  2. Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of Malta, Msida, MSD 2080, Malta

    Liberato Camilleri

  3. Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe/Universität Karlsruhe, 76021, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Hans Güsten

Authors
  1. Martin Saliba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Raymond Ellul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Liberato Camilleri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hans Güsten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raymond Ellul.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saliba, M., Ellul, R., Camilleri, L. et al. A 10-year study of background surface ozone concentrations on the island of Gozo in the Central Mediterranean. J Atmos Chem 60, 117–135 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-008-9112-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-008-9112-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation