TRANSPORT OF PHOTOCHEMICAL OXIDANTS ALONG THE NORTHWESTERN ADRIATIC COAST

In coastal areas featuring industrial plants, air masses rich in photo chemical pollutants can be transported offshore and then back inshore as a result of the land-sea breeze circulation system. Precursors of O 3 are transported out to sea in the morning hours and the offshore-for med oxidants blown back to the coast in the early afternoon by the sea breeze, thereby raising the concentration of ozone at ground level. A long the northwestern coast of the Adriatic Sea this phenomenon takes on a marked significance, involving an offshore distance of approximat ely 30-40 km. The present paper surveys the findings of experimental s tudies conducted in the Ravenna area over the last decade, and reports the results of an empirical trajectory model developed to provide a d ynamic interpretation of the ground-level distribution and concentrati on of photochemical oxidant concentrations along the area's coastline.