Origin of polluted air masses in the Alps. An overview and first results for MONARPOP

The contribution of ZAMG to MONAROP consists of special weather forecasts to control the SOCs sampling procedure and of the analysis of the specific transport processes for SOCs, which is still in progress.In this paper, air pollutant transport into the Alps is demonstrated by examples of inorganic pollutants: Measurements of NO_x and ozone provide evidence for air pollutant transport by local wind systems (valley and slope winds), especially at low elevated sites of the Alps. In addition, trajectory analyses for the high elevation sites demonstrate the importance of large scale synoptic air pollutant transport. The effects of these transport processes with different spatial and temporal scales are governed by the physical and chemical properties of the particular pollutant.First results for the high alpine MONARPOP stations show that air masses from east Europe influence mostly Sonnblick (Austria), whereas the influence of the Po basin is strongest at Weissfluhjoch (Switzerland).