Deposition of sulphur and nitrogen compounds in Croatia

Since precipitation is an efficient scavenger of pollutants, concentrations of major ions in precipitation reflect changes in chemistry of the atmosphere and in the subsequent exposure of various ecosystems to deposition. The National Atmospheric Precipitation Chemistry programme was initiated in 1978 and operated by Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Croatia to provide needed information on geographical patterns and temporal trends in precipitation chemistry in Croatia. To accomplish this, a network of about 20 stations, settled in different geographical regions, operates on a daily basis for 15 years now. Some monitoring stations are site- and study- specific; others are included in long-term, regional, or European monitoring networks (EMEP, GAW, MEDPOL, GEMS). The purpose of this work was to summarise existing data from the whole network for the period 1981–1992 and to compare data from measurements with EMEP model calculations of acid deposition. Results presented here show that annual average concentration and deposition values at remote sites agree reasonably well compared to modelled ones.