Spatial variability of the episodicity of the wet deposition in a complex terrain region in the north of Spain

Abstract

Within the framework of the EPOCA programme (Estudios en el Pirineo Occidental de la Contaminatión Acida), the episodicity values of wet deposition have been calculated on six rainwater collecting sites over a small and industrialized area located in the North of Spain for a period of eight years. All episodicity values for the different analyzed ions are lower than 10 % for the six sites that is, there is no inepisodic site. However, there are some sites that present an episodic character (episodicity value lower lower than 5 %) depending on the ion nature. This spatial variability is mainly due to both the Fohn effect in a complex terrain region and the location of the emission sources with respect to the rainwater collecting sites.

Key words:

• Episodiciry
• wet deposition
• back‐trajectories
• complex terrain
• Föhn effect