A study of the sulfur budget for the atmosphere over Northern Europe”

Abstract

The atmospheric sulfur budget for Northern Europe is discussed and compared with global averages. It is found that in this area the anthropogenic sulfur sources outweight natural sources. A comparison between deposition and emission of sulfur within different regions in Northern Europe shows that the dispersion of sulfur has a continental character; i.e. since, on average, sulfur is transported more than 1 000 km before it is deposited, one country can be appreciably influenced by another, in this respect. A tentative model for the variation of deposition with distance from a source is suggested. Application of this model gives an estimated turnover time for anthropogenic sulfur of 2–4 days. As a quantitative example, the distribution between various sources of the sulfur deposition in Sweden has been estimated. The calculations indicate that about half of the sulfur originates from foreign anthropogenic emissions, whilst the other half is caused by Swedish emissions and a natural background. Just as Sweden is influenced by the surrounding industrial countries, it is furthermore clear that a large part of the sulfur emitted in Sweden is deposited outside the country.