The influence of local and distant sources of precipitation pollutant emissions in the Western Carpathians in the context of climatic and socio-economic changes

Abstract

This study analyses the influence of atmospheric circulation type (ACT) on the basic physical parameters of precipitation, i.e. pH and specific electrolytic conductivity (SEC), during a period of pronounced climate change and socio-economic transformation in the Western Carpathians, focusing on the central portion of the Western Beskids. Calculations and analyses were based on measurements of daily precipitation water samples, which were related to data from the calendar of synoptic situations proposed by T. Niedźwiedź. During the 1995–2020 study period, the average annual and seasonal pH exhibited a positive trend, whereas the SEC exhibited a negative trend. The average pH was observed to be lower for anticyclonic ACT, particularly during the winter season, when an increase in precipitation water acidification was caused by the inflow of pollutants from the Silesian conurbation, the Cracow agglomeration and the nitrogen plants in Tarnów (Wa and NWa types), in addition to pollutants from Slovakia (Ea and SEa types). In autumn (SON), an increase in the SEC of precipitation water was observed due to an increase in atmospheric dust concentration. Comparing the changes observed in average pH and SEC under different ACTs between the first and last decades of the study period indicates an overall increase in pH and decrease in SEC, despite a lack of clear changes in the distribution of circulation types.