Monitoring of tropospheric ozone in the atmosphere of megalopolises and low-urbanized regions

Abstract

The results of a long-term study of the ozone content in surface atmosphere, carried out in several regions of the European part of Russia: Karadag Natural Reserve (Crimea); Moscow, Tarusa, St.Petersburg, and Vyatskie Polyany towns; and Karakul’skaya Pristan’ village (Kirov region), are reported. The technical tools used for automatic monitoring of tropospheric ozone and some other atmospheric parameters are described. The main regularities of spatial and temporal variability of tropospheric ozone in atmosphere (in particular, seasonal and diurnal variations; dependences on the concentration of ozone precursors in air, solar light intensity, humidity, and smoke content in atmospheric air; the presence of day and night maxima; the latitude distribution; and the specific features of ozone content dynamics in megalopolises and low-urbanized regions) are demonstrated based on experimental material. The presence of paradoxically high levels of tropospheric ozone near megalopolises is experimentally shown. A general increase in the ozone content in the surface atmosphere is demonstrated. In particular, an increase in the occurrence rate and intensity of cases of hazardous excess above allowable levels of daily average and single maximum allowable concentrations in both megalopolises and resort regions is revealed.