Atmospheric Pb and Cd input into the Baltic Sea: a new estimate based on measurements

Abstract

Abstract Bulk deposition samples were collected during a summer (1997) and a winter (1998) measurement campaign at four coastal stations along the southern Baltic Sea coast and on the Island of Gotland. The data were used to construct Pb and Cd deposition fields over the Baltic Sea. A weak gradient with decreasing deposition rates from the southwest towards the east and north was obtained for Pb. In the case of Cd, the spatial distribution pattern was characterized by an extreme deposition maximum at the Polish station on the Hel Peninsula. The total atmospheric input of Pb and Cd into the Baltic Sea was 550 and 33 t/year, respectively, and exceeds the riverine input by approximately about 50%. Previous measurement-based estimates were higher by a factor 2–3 and indicate a decrease of the atmospheric deposition during the past 10–15 years. The comparison with modelled deposition data yielded partly large differences and was impaired by the fact that 1990 emission inventories were used whereas our measurements were performed in 1997/1998. Relating our deposition estimate and the Pb/Cd input by rivers to the mean concentrations in Baltic Sea water, residence times of 0.29 and 3.6 years were obtained for Pb and Cd, respectively.