ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Impact of Emissions on Atmospheric Composition
at Kasprowy Wierch Based on Results of Carbon
Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide Monitoring
Jarosław M. Nęcki1, Łukasz Chmura2, Mirosław Zimnoch1, Kazimierz Różański1
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1AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science,
Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
2Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, National Research Institute, IMGW-PIB Branch of Krakow,
Piotra Borowego 14, 30-215 Kraków, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2013;22(4):1119-1127
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The high-altitude laboratory of greenhouse gas measurement, KASLAB, was founded on the Polish
mountain Kasprowy Wierch in 1994. In the direct neighborhood of the measuring point there are no significant
sources of compounds measured at the station. However, the measuring point may be affected by periodic
anthropogenic emissions from the nearby Podhale region, with Zakopane the most popular tourist resort
(6 km to the north and 1 km below Kasprowy Wierch). Periodic air enrichment in CO content detected at the
KASLAB station indicates a prior contact of air masses that reach Kasprowy Wierch with the lower layer of
the troposphere and can be used for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of trace gas emissions (for example
CO2) from regions with strong anthropopression. Data analysis performed for 2010 presented in this paper
revealed that the anthropogenic component of carbon dioxide observed at Kasprowy Wierch usually does not
exceed 2 ppm, occasionally reaching a value of 10 ppm. Respiration component of atmospheric CO2 concentration
at Kasprowy Wierch can be as high as 35 ppm.