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Temporal Changes in Mountain Slope Gradients in the Concentrations of Pollutants and Pb Isotope Ratios Near the Ostrava Conurbation (Upper Silesia, Czech-Polish Border)

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Abstract

The Upper Silesian basin belongs to the largest industrial pollution sources in Europe and the city of Ostrava ranks among the worst-polluted urban areas in the European Union. To assess temporal and spatial trends in atmospheric pollution, we determined concentrations of S, Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, and Al in snow in downtown Ostrava and at the Lysa Hora Mt. (LH), situated 33 km southeast. Snowpack surfaces were sampled in February 2011/2012, 2018, and 2019. At LH, we collected snow samples at four elevations (700, 900, 1100, and 1300 m) in order to quantify mountain slope gradients in the pollution that, in turn, might reflect vertical stratification of air masses in a region frequently affected by temperature inversions. 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/207Pb isotope ratios and back trajectories of air masses were used for pollution source apportionment. In year 1, there were clear-cut upslope decreases in concentrations of soluble pollutants. By year 3, the concentrations of soluble pollutants at LH decreased by 90% and the concentration gradients ceased to exist. Because annual precipitation totals at LH increase upslope by 75%, rates of deposition of soluble pollutants are now higher at the summit than those at the foot of the mountain. Hydrological control of deposition rates of soluble pollutants thus plays a more important role under lower pollution levels. Concentrations of soluble pollutants in Ostrava were up to 36 times higher compared with those at LH and also decreased by 90%. Lead isotopes indicated the continuing presence of gasoline Pb in the atmosphere, despite its ban in 2000.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. A. Komarek of Charles University and Petra Voldrichova of the Czech Geological Survey for assistance.

Funding

This study was funded by an intramural grant of the Czech Geological Survey to EP (DKRVO 2018-2022, project no. 310200).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Czech Geological Survey, Geologicka 6, 152 00, Prague 5, Czech Republic

    Eva Prechova, Ondrej Sebek, Martin Novak, Vladislav Chrastny, Marketa Stepanova, Jan Pasava, Frantisek Veselovsky, Jan Curik, Petra Pacherova, Leona Bohdalkova & Marie Houskova

  2. Faculty of Science, Laboratories of the Geological Institutes, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Ladislav Strnad

  3. Faculty of Environmental Science, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamycka 129, 165 21, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Vladislav Chrastny

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  1. Eva Prechova
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  2. Ondrej Sebek
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  3. Ladislav Strnad
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  4. Martin Novak
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  5. Vladislav Chrastny
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Correspondence to Martin Novak.

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Fig. S1.

Deposition of Pb and Zn on 10 mountain-top locations throughout the Czech Republic. Study site locations are marked by open circles in Fig. 1a. According to Cimova et al. (2016), and Novak et al. (2016). The following study sites were included in the comparison: ZAJ – Zajeci vrh, PRA – Pramenac, BUK – Bukova hora, POM – Polomka, TET – Tetrevec, VRH – Pricny vrh, ELK – Velky Polom, LOU – Kamenna Loucka , KAP – Kaprad, NEC – Kamenec. (PNG 2126 kb)

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Prechova, E., Sebek, O., Strnad, L. et al. Temporal Changes in Mountain Slope Gradients in the Concentrations of Pollutants and Pb Isotope Ratios Near the Ostrava Conurbation (Upper Silesia, Czech-Polish Border). Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 246 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04615-w

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