Spatial variations in elemental deposition rates in southern Greece. A two-city study

Bulk deposition samples were collected simultaneously, on a monthly basis, in two cities differing in pollution sources in southern Greece (Patras and Megalopolis) during February 1997 - January 1998. Megalopolis is situated near lignite power plants, while Patras is a typical urban city. Collected samples from three sampling sites in Patras (P1-P3) and five in Megalopolis (M1-M5) were analyzed for major and trace elements using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Comparison of the results illustrated that the deposition rates of most of the analyzed elements, except for Zn, Br, Ca and Sb, were significantly higher in Megalopolis than in Patras, while that of Na was higher in Patras. On the contrary, no differences in monthly dust deposition rates between the two cities were found. A comparison between sampling sites in Patras showed non-significant differences in dust and elemental deposition rates for most of the detected elements, while in Megalopolis the significant effect for dust and most elements was attributed to the higher deposition rates of site M5, located in the power plant A area. (author)