The role of air masses on iron concentrations in wet atmospheric deposition over the urbanized coastal zone of the Gulf of Gdańsk

This paper describes the role of air masses in transporting iron to the coastal zone of the Gulf of Gdansk. Fe(II) concentrations in rainfall were measured between 19th January and 30th November 2005 in Gdynia, during which time they varied from 0.74 μmol dm-3 to 97.45 μmol dm-3. The relationship between iron concentrations and precipitation amount, including during preceding rainless periods, was calculated. The effectiveness of washing iron out of the atmosphere is described by the exponential function of precipitation duration. Air masses arriving from west of the area transport terrigenous iron to the coastal zone of the Gulf of Gdańsk, while anthropogenic sources in Western Europe and Pomerania hardly affected the iron concentrations.