Impact of emissions on atmospheric composition at Kasprowy Wierch based on results of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide monitoring

The high-altitude laboratory of greenhouse gas measurement, KASLAB, was founded on the Polish mountain Kasprowy Wierch in 1994. In the direct neighborhood of the measuring point there are no significant sources of compounds measured at the station. However, the measuring point may be affected by periodic anthropogenic emissions from the nearby Podhale region, with Zakopane the most popular tourist resort (6 km to the north and 1 km below Kasprowy Wierch). Periodic air enrichment in CO content detected at the KASLAB station indicates a prior contact of air masses that reach Kasprowy Wierch with the lower layer of the troposphere and can be used for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of trace gas emissions (for example CO2) from regions with strong anthropopression. Data analysis performed for 2010 presented in this paper revealed that the anthropogenic component of carbon dioxide observed at Kasprowy Wierch usually does not exceed 2 ppm, occasionally reaching a value of 10 ppm. Respiration component of atmospheric CO2 concentration at Kasprowy Wierch can be as high as 35 ppm.