TRENDS IN SULFUR EMISSION-INDUCED EFFECTS IN NORTHERN EUROPE

Fennoscandia is subjected to a considerable anthropogenic load, where S still is a notable contributor. At the same time, the region is very sensitive to acidifying depositions. The Regional Acidification Infor mation and Simulation model (RAINS) was applied for a regional assessm ent of S deposition and loads in Fennoscandia from 1960 through 1995. Different variants of sources were considered: 1) all Europe, 2) north -west Russia (the Kola, Karelia and Leningrad county), and 3) the Nord ic countries (Finland, Norway, Sweden). This allowed their contributio n to the deposition pattern of the region to be assessed. The percenta ge of the ecosystems where the critical load had been exceeded was cal culated for each year. For a more detailed assessment of the influence of the sources of the Kola region, estimations on the basis of local and meso-scale models were made. Comparative analysis of the calculati ons for the domestic and all the European sources revealed a dominatin g effect of S deposition from west and central Europe (Europe minus Fe nnoscandia) in general. The calculations showed a high, but local impa ct of the Kola sources on northern parts of the Fennoscandian region.