UK Pollutant Deposition
Emissions of air pollutants have a wide range of effects in the environment. Reduced air quality can affect human health, while deposition of air pollutants back to earth can affect ecosystems, changing biodiversity and reducing water quality.
Air pollutants are removed from the atmosphere through ‘wet deposition’, by rain, snow and fog, and by ‘dry deposition’, which is the direct uptake of gases and particles to land and water surfaces. The key components relevant for atmospheric deposition are sulphur, reactive nitrogen, chlorine, base cations and heavy metals.
This site provides UK information on atmospheric deposition, as supported by Defra and the UK Devolved Administrations. It complements the National Air Quality Archive, which focuses on air pollutant concentrations and human health, and UKREATE, which addresses the impacts of air pollution on terrestrial ecosystems.
Deposition monitoring of the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano
Submitted by Administrator on Wed, 2010-05-19 17:02.
[Photo of ash plume: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team]CEH measures many atmospheric chemicals at its EMEP superersite Auchencorth Moss, 15 miles south of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. Of interest with respect to the volcano is the measurement of hourly mercury concentrations and fluoride.
The Eyjafjallajökull eruption has been occurring since March 2010. In April, the eruption had 2 distinct stages: first was between 14/04 and 18/04 during which the large ash cloud was formed and explosive mixing between the glacial lake and the lava occurred. The second phase was characterised by a less explosive plume. This second phase is still continuing and intermittently the plume has passed over the UK at varying altitudes.
Mercury
Volcanoes are a major natural source for mercury and it can be found in the gas phase and associated with volcanic ash. The graph below shows the most recent 5 days of mercury measurements. This data is updated daily.
Normal air concentrations at remote UK sites are between 1.4 -1.5 ng/m3. Higher concentrations can be seen if air has passed over a coal-burning power station, a crematorium, an industrial source of mercury or a volcano before reaching the site. If the plume from Eyjafjallajökull reached the ground we would expect to see a significant increase in concentration. When elevated mercury levels are observed, to verify the origin of the mercury links to the source, e.g. the volcano, would then need to be made by following the path of the air prior to reaching the measurement site. Even at concentrations several times larger than the norm, elemental mercury in air poses no threat to human health.
The UK Eutrophying and Acidifying atmospheric Pollutants (UKEAP)
Submitted by Administrator on Wed, 2009-11-04 11:26.The UK Eutrophying and Acidifying atmospheric Pollutants (UKEAP) network project combines two Defra atmospheric pollutant monitoring projects which have measured air pollutants at rural sites across the UK over the past two decades. UKEAP sits within the wider framework of UK pollutant monitoring and contributes data to the UK and the international research effort investigating the flow of chemicals in the environment. This in turn supports the effort to understand climate and ecosystem responses to anthropogenic and biogenic emissions, and the assessment of climate, ecosystem and human impacts of acidifying and eutrophying air pollutants. The combined project will now run 4 networks across the UK, managed by Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and AEA Technology. The UKEAP project now combines the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network (ADMN), and the National Ammonia Monitoring Network (NAMN). |  |
Daily data
Submitted by Administrator on Thu, 2008-11-06 17:23.You can now view live data for Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide (updated daily) from our EMEP supersite at Auchencorth.
2006 Deposition Maps and Data
Submitted by Administrator on Wed, 2008-10-22 17:27.New Network Map Search for Ammonia, Nitric Acid and Heavy Metals monitoring networks
Submitted by Administrator on Fri, 2008-08-15 18:04.A new UK Network Map integrating Google Maps is now available for looking up individual stations on the UK Ammonia, Nitric Acid and Heavy Metals networks. Click on the markers to reveal the name of each station. Within each 'bubble' you can click on the station name to access the data for that station.
