Sweden: projects/activities

The aim of this project is to measure the airborne deposition of acidifying and eutrophicating compounds (gaseous and particulate reduced and oxidised nitrogen and sulphur compounds) in air and precipitation over Sweden at high altitude. The results from this programme is used to calculate and model basic processes governing sources, atmospheric transport and sinks of atmospheric trace constituents. The observations are made at three stations. The measurements include particulate reduced and oxidised nitrogen and sulphur compounds in gaseous and particulate form in air and precipitation.

This project is now part of the project: Acidifying and Eutrophifying Substances in Air and Precipitation

National Environmental Monitoring Programme. National Environmental Monitoring Programme. The PMK Network is part of the national network for deposition measurements. The aim is (i) a long-term monitoring of concentration and deposition of selected air transported compounds caused acidification and eutrophication in different parts of Sweden; (ii) to generate knowledge about long-term variation in the field deposition, (iii) to give the background data from low polluted areas for calculation of pollutants deposition in more polluted areas the monitoring of pollutants in air and precipitations are proceed. Ozon and air samples for analysis of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, HCl as well as basic metal ions (Na, K, Ca, Mg, are taken on a monthly basis in air and precipitation. Ozone, as well as sulphur and the nitrogen compound particles are measured in air, and sulphur and nitrogen compounds, base cations, pH and electro-conductivity in precipitation.

This project is now part of the project : Acidifying and Eutrophifying Substances in Air and Precipitation

National Environmental Monitoring in Sweden. The project is included in a European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme network (EMEP). The subprogram main task is to check if international agreements as UN Convention on Long range Trans-boundary Air Pollution (CLTRAP) is followed. The measurements follow up the Swedish national generational goals "Natural Acidification Only", "A Non-Toxic Environment" and "Clean Air". The network comprises 10 stations, out of which three are in north Sweden, the two one are in AMAP area. Air chemistry is monitored by diffusion samplers. The following compounds are measured: SO2, SO4, tot-NH4, tot-NO3, soot, NO2. Precipitation quality is monitored following measured compounds: SO4-S, NO-N, Cl, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, pH, EC. Metals in air and precipitation are analysed only at one north station (Bredkälen), and include: As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, V, Hg, methyl-Hg.

National Environmental Monitoring Programme in Sweden, in the "Air" programme area. Eleven chemical parameters are measured in precipitation every month, and in the air Hg (TGM and TPM) is measured weekly. Measurements are carried out at 4 stations in Sweden and one in Finland.  The project is part of an international network that follows the variations in the levels and deposition of heavy metals, particularly mercury, in the Arctic region.

This project is a merging of two previous projects: "Pollutants in air, daily values" and "Pollutants in air, monthly values, Precipitation chemsitry, monthly sampling, Ozone measurements, passive sampling. S- and N- Components in air with passive sampling."

National Environmental Monitoring program in Sweden. The subprogram "Acidifying and Eutrophifying Substances in Air and Precpipitaiton" is included in a European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme network (EMEP) and in the national program "Air and Precipitation Chemistry Network" (LNKN). The EMEP network currently comprises 4 stations, out of which 1 is located in northern Sweden, close to AMAP area. The LNKN measurements of substances in air are currently performed at 9 stations and in precipitation at 16 stations. Monitoring is performed Daily within the EMEP network and monthly within the LNKN network.

National Environmental Monitoring in Sweden in the "Air" programme. The objective of the project is to follow climate-changing gases and particles and which effects they could have on the climate of earth. To understand and assess the human effect on the climate, regionally and globally, the atmospheric aerosols and greenhouse gases are monitored. The project aims follow: (i) detecting long-term trends in the carbon dioxide level, as well as trends in the amount or composition of aerosols in the background atmosphere; (ii) provide a basis to study the processes that control the aerosol life cycle from their formation through aging and transformation, until being removed from the atmosphere; (iii) provide a basis to study the processes (sources, sinks, and transport pathways) that control the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; (iv) contribute to the global network of stations that perform continous measurements of atmospheric particles and trace gases to determine their effect on the earths radiation balance and interaction with clouds and climate.

National Environmental Monitoring in Sweden in "Air" programme and sub-programme "the thickness of the ozon layer". The project follows changes in the thickness of the ozone layer in the atmosphere over Sweden.

National Environmental Monitoring Programme in Sweden. The objective is to follow the deposition of heavy metals over Sweden by the analyses of their concentration in two selected species of moss. The selected species are: Red-stemmed Feather-moss (Pleurozium schreberi) and Mountain Fern Moss (Hylocomnium splendens). Preferred specie: Red-stemmed Feather-moss (Pleurozium schreberi). Metals adsorbed by mosses almost exclusively come from the air and metal concentration in mosses are therefore seen as a proxy for metal deposition. Analysed elements are: Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, Zn (2015). The moss samples are taken from over 600 stands across Sweden.

National Environmental Monitoring Programme in Sweden. Measurements of persistant organic pollutants in air and precipitation are carried out at Råö, Hallahus, Aspvreten, and in Pallas (Northern Finland). The monitoring programme includes measurements of: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), some pesticides (HCH, DDT) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE).

At the Zeppelin Station on Svalbard, Stockholm University, Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES) measures trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide in background atmosphere (Table 4, #1.6, Table 5, ##3–4). In collaboration with NOAA/CMDL in Boulder, USA, air is regularly sampled in flasks for analysis of CO2, CH4, CO, 13CO2, H2, N2O, SF6, and 18O in CO2. At the top of the micrometeorological tower (102 m) at Norunda north of Uppsala, carbon dioxide and methane concentrations are also measured (Fig. 2, Table 5, #5). Other sites for CO2 measurements are the flux sites described below. Air samples are taken at 10 sites in northern Sweden for analysis of SO2, NO2, and surface-near ozone (Fig. 2, Table 4, #1.2) in the air- and precipitation chemistry network. At the Zeppelin Station on Svalbard, Stockholm University, Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES) also measures the amount and composition of aerosols in the background atmosphere. Measurements include particle concentration and size distribution, light absorption and scattering, and cloud residual properties (cloud residuals are the particles which took part in cloud droplet or ice crystal formation)

Arctic study of trophospheric aerosol, clouds and radiation

At present there are about 12 micrometeorological tower sites north of 60°N in Sweden that use eddy covariance techniques to measure the exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, energy, and at some sites methane between terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere on a long-term and continuous basis (Table 5, ##5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16–22). Among these tower sites, Norunda is the oldest and most complete complete (Table 5, #5). Three towers are in use at Rosindal, 70 km northwest of Umeå, in full-scale nitrogen and carbon dioxide experiments (Table 5, #12). In addition, one site is located at Zackenberg on Greenland (Table 5, #22). At the sites, data on vegetation, soil, and meteorological and hydrological conditions are also collected. The Swedish sites are integrated in the international Fluxnet program that assembles more than 400 eddy covariance sites around the world in an effort to better understand land surface – atmosphere interaction and its role in global change. The Swedish micrometeorological towers are presently financed by research councils, viz. Swedish Research Council (VR) and Formas, EU and university faculties. A European research infrastructure for flux measurements, the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is being planned and includes Sweden as one of the participating nations.

The total column amount of ozone and other trace gases are measured with mm-wave instruments, FT-IR and DOAS spectrometers, at IRF in Kiruna (Table 6, #8.1). With the sun or moon as infrared light sources, FT-IR spectrometers can quantify the total column amounts of many important trace gases in the troposphere and stratosphere. At present the following species are retrieved from the Kiruna data: O3 (ozone), ClONO2, HNO3, HCl, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC- 22, NO2, N2O, NO, HF, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH4, CO, COF2, H2O, HCN, HO2NO2, NH3, N2, and OCS. Together with Russian and Finnish institutes at the same latitude, IRF studies the stratospheric ozone and its dependence on polar atmospheric circulation and precipitation of charged particles. The ground-based instruments are also used to validate satellite measurements of vertical ozone distribution (Odin, SAGE III, and GOME). Aerosols and thin clouds are measured at IRF in Kiruna. For example, researchers use Lidars (Light Detection and Ranging) to measure polar stratospheric and noctilucent clouds. Winds and structures are measured with ESRAD MST radar at IRF in Kiruna. At IRF in Kiruna measurements are used to assess the physical and chemical state of the stratosphere and upper troposphere and the impact of changes on the global climate. Particle precipitation is measured by relative ionospheric opacity meters (riometers) at IRF in Kiruna. Riometers measure the absorption of cosmic noise at 30 and 38 MHz and provide information about particles with energies larger than 10 keV. The electron density of the ionosphere is measured by ionosonds and digisondes at IRF in Kiruna.

SMHI measures the thickness of the ozone layer at 2 sites in Sweden, one at Norrköping in southeast Sweden and one at Svartberget Forest Research Park, Vindeln, 70 km NW of Umeå. At Svartberget a Dobson and a Brewer Spectrophotometer are operational. The measurements are part of SEPA’s Environmental Monitoring Program.

Calculating deposition in a grid over Sweden showed the lack of information on deposition at high altitude. SMHI applied the meso scale MATCH model to calculate the deposition field and the matched model is called MATCH-Sweden. The result is found at http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=5640&l=sv The observations made at these stations are: Particles in air: SO4-S, NO3-N, NH4-N, Cl, Na, Ca, Mg, K Gase:s NH3-N, HNO3-N, SO2-S Deposition open field precipitation: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K Deposition in forest throughfall: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K To integrate the relatively few deposition measurement sites, SMHI has adopted the Mesoscale Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry Model (MATCH) that uses emission data, meteorological data, routines for chemical processes, and a transport model to calculate long-range transport and deposition of air pollutants (Table 4, #1.5). Time series of gridded data over Sweden for deposition of different inorganic chemical compounds calculated with the MATCH-Sweden model are available at SMHI (Appendix, Table 11). When the MATCH-Sweden model was first tested, the deposition network lacked high elevation sites. Hence, a monitoring program for deposition at higher elevations (Table 4, #1.9) was started. It consists of 4 sites in high elevation forests along the Swedish mountain ridge, where NO3, NH4, NH3, HNO3, SO2, SO4, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, pH, conductivity, and amount of precipitation are analyzed on monthly accumulated precipitation samples.

The subprogram main task is to check if international agreements as the UN Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLTRAP) are followed. EMEP = European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. The network comprises 10 stations, out of which three are in northern Sweden. Air chemistry is monitored by diffusion samplers. The following compounds are measured: SO2, SO4, tot-NH4, tot-NO3, soot, NO2, O3 Precipitation quality is monitored by samplers with lid, open only when it rains. The following compounds are measured: SO4-S, NO-N, Cl, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, pH, EC. Ozone near ground is analyzed every hour and is part of an European warning system PM10 is particles Metals in air and precipitation is analysed at Bredkälen only. The following elements are analyzed: As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, V, Hg, metyl-Hg.

The PMK Network is part of the national network for deposition measurements. The aim is a longterm monitoring concentration and deposition of different air transported compounds. The aim is also to generate knowledge about longterm variation in the deposition field, and to give background data from low polluted areas for calculation of pollution deposition in more polluted areas. The Air and Precipitation Chemistry Network includes about 25 sites (14 in northern Sweden) where precipitation from open accumulating samplers are collected and analyzed for pH, SO4, NO3, NH4, Cl, Ca, Mg, Na, K, conductivity, and amount of precipitation (Table 4, #1.2). At 3 sites (one in northern Sweden) precipitation is analyzed for heavy metals, mercury, and methyl-mercury (Table 4, #1.3).

At the top of the micrometeorological tower (102 m) at Norunda north of Uppsala, carbon dioxide and methane concentrations are also measured.