title: On the temporal and spatial variation of ozone in Cyprus.
abstract: More than sixteen years (1997-2013) of continuous ozone concentrations at the rural Agia Marina (EMEP, 532 ma.s.l.) station in Cyprus, together with a number of ancillary chemical and meteorological parameters have been analyzed on a multiannual, annual and diurnal basis. The observations reveal a) the presence of a prominent seasonality with maxima observed during summer (54±5 ppbv) and the minima in winter (39±3 ppbv) b) a relatively small diurnal variability with the noon levels (50±9 ppbv) being higher by ~4 pbbv compared to nighttime (46±9 ppbv) and c) a non-significant upward trend over the 16 years of 0.11±0.12 ppbv y(-1). To assess the spatial variability over Cyprus, simultaneous measurements in 2011-2012 have been performed at Inia, Stavrovouni and Cavo Greco, three remote marine monitoring sites located to the west, central and the east of the Island, respectively. Our results show that ambient ozone levels over Cyprus are mostly influenced by regional/transported ozone while the local precursor emissions play a minor role in ozone formation. On an annual basis a net ozone reduction of 1.5 and 1.0 ppbv occurs when the air masses originate from northerly and westerly directions, respectively, while this is 2.4 ppbv during southerly wind. This suggests continuous net ozone loss controlled by surface deposition and photochemical destruction, and highlights the importance of long-range transport in controlling ozone levels in Cyprus.
authors: Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, Department of Labour Inspection (DLI), Nicosia, Cyprus.
authors: Savvas
authors: S
authors: Kleanthous
authors: The Cyprus Institute, Environment Energy and Water Research Center, Nicosia, Cyprus.
authors: Mihalis
authors: M
authors: Vrekoussis
authors: The Cyprus Institute, Environment Energy and Water Research Center, Nicosia, Cyprus; Environmental Chemical Laboratory Processes, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors: Nikolaos
authors: N
authors: Mihalopoulos
authors: Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors: Pavlos
authors: P
authors: Kalabokas
authors: The Cyprus Institute, Environment Energy and Water Research Center, Nicosia, Cyprus; Max Planck Institute, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Jos
authors: J
authors: Lelieveld
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003535:Cyprus; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D010126:Ozone / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D010126:Ozone
keywords: Cyprus; East Mediterranean; Long-term air quality observations; Ozone observations; Spatiotemporal variability; Transported pollution