The overall objectives for operation of the station will follow those defined in the AMAP programme. The main interests are the levels and trends of airborne toxic pollutants (POPs and heavy metals) in northern Fennoscandia.
POPs: Parallel sampling of POPs in air and deposition with a sampling frequency of one week per month. PAHs, HCHs, PCBs, DTTs, p,p-DDT, p,p-DDE, p,p-DDD, chlordanes, transnonachlor Mercury: Monthly precipitation sampling, weekly sampling of particulate mercury in air, every other week, daily sampling of gaseous mercury in air, one sample per week. Heavy metals: Bulk sampling of precipitation monthly. Weekly sampling of heavy metals in air. As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn Acidifying compounds: Weekly sampling of precipitation for major ions. Conductivity, pH, Cl, NO3, SO4, Mg, Ca, NH4, Na, K Daily filter sampling for sulphate, sulphur dioxide, nitrate+nitric acid and ammonium+ammonia in air.
Pallas/Matorova 68 deg. 00 min. N, 24 deg. 15 min. E, 340 m a.s.l.
POPs: The POPs in the air are collected using a high volume air sampler (HVS). A glass fiber filter is used for trapping the particles followed by an adsorbent of polyurethane foam (PUF) for collecting compounds in the gas phase. Both wet and dry deposition of POPs is collected using an open sampler (bulk sampler). This sampler consists of a 1 m2 Teflon coated surface with edges. The bottom declines slightly to a central opening where a cassette with an adsorbent of PUF is attached. The deposition sample includes both compounds in the precipitation and compounds deposited to the collection surface of the sampler. The POPs are extracted from the sample matrix with solvent extraction and prior to the analysis a selective preparation of the sample extracts is undertaken. Laboratory: The sample treatment and analysis of POPs are done at IVL, Göteborg. Mercury: Precipitation samples for mercury are collected in special samplers. Samples for particulate mercury in air are collected on filters. Gaseous mercury in air is sampled in gold traps. Analysis: Cold vapour AAS. Laboratory: IVL, Göteborg Heavy metals: Bulk samples of precipitation. Filter samples for heavy metals are collected with a medium-volume sampler. Analysis: ICP-MS. Laboratory: Finnish Meteorological Institute. Acidifying compounds: Bulk precipitation samples for major ions. Filter sampling for sulphate, sulphur dioxide, nitrate+nitric acid, ammonium+ammonia. The methods are from the EMEP manual. Laboratory: Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
IVL is an accredited laboratory for PAH, PCB and mercury analysis. The laboratory of FMI is accredited for analysis of heavy metals and major ions.
IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute Box 470 86 SE-402 58 Göteborg
UN ECE EMEP, WMO GAW
Pallas-Sodankylä, GAW station, Northern Finland Oulanka, EMEP station, Northern Finland National deposition monitoring, Northern Finland