VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF METAL DEPOSITION RATES NEXT TO A MAJOR URBAN ROAD IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Sipos, Péter and May, Zoltán (2013) VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF METAL DEPOSITION RATES NEXT TO A MAJOR URBAN ROAD IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 8 (2). pp. 5-12. ISSN 1842-4090; 1844-489X

Preview

Text Sipos&MayCJEES2013.pdf Download (512kB) | Preview

Abstract

Dust and metal deposition are of important significance as an indicator of local air quality. However, their vertical deposition characteristics at greater heights are not well known. Settling dust samples were collected at four heights and at both sides of a 40 meters high building next to a busy urban road in Budapest, Hungary. In this study, concentrations and monthly deposition rates of nine elements are (Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Sr, Zn) evaluated. The study site can be characterized by average settling dust load showing a slight seasonal variation. Highest contamination was found for Cu, Pb and Zn. The sources of these metals could be the traffic and the weathering of materials of the built environment. The enrichment of these metals is generally the highest at the road-side of the building and at lower sampling heights, but Pb and Zn may show strong enrichment even at 33 m and at the low-traffic side of the building. This is generally the highest in the dry and windy periods suggesting the dominance of the resuspension of urban soil and road dust in the metal deposition. The vertical dust and metal deposition patterns mostly correspond to the supposed air-flow model but just in case of highest chance of resuspension a special model is needed to clearly describe the deposition patterns. This is probably due to the simultaneous effect of weather conditions and the morphology of natural and built environment.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item