Transport of photochemical oxidants along the northwestern adriatic coast

Abstract

In coastal areas featuring industrial plants, air masses rich in photochemical pollutants can be transported offshore and then back inshore as a result of the land-sea breeze circulation system. Precursors of O₃ are transported out to sea in the morning hours and the offshore-formed oxidants blown back to the coast in the early afternoon by the sea breeze, thereby raising the concentration of ozone at ground level. Along the northwestern coast of the Adriatic Sea this phenomenon takes on a marked significance, involving an offshore distance of approximately 30–40 km. The present paper surveys the findings of experimental studies conducted in the Ravenna area over the last decade, and reports the results of an empirical trajectory model developed to provide a dynamic interpretation of the ground-level distribution and concentration of photochemical oxidant concentrations along the area's coastline.