Surface ozone levels in the forest and vegetation areas of the Biga Peninsula, Turkey.

Spatial and temporal variability of surface ozone in the rural, mountainous and suburban sites of Biga Peninsula, at the northwest of Turkey which is about 300km southwest of Istanbul was investigated using passive samplers and continuous analyzers. A total 10 passive samplers and two continuous analyzers were used between 1.1.2013 and 31.12.2014. OX levels in the study region were examined to understand NOx dependent or independent contribution to ozone. The influences of the meteorological parameters on ozone levels were also examined by wind speed and ambient temperature. The results clearly show that mountainous areas have higher cumulative exposure to ozone than suburban locations. In order to understand the long range transport sources contributing to the high ozone levels in the region backward trajectories were computed using HYSPLIT model and then clustering of trajectories are performed. The results clearly show the characteristics of pollutant transport from north to Biga Peninsula. Additionally, AOT40 (Accumulated hourly O3 concentrations Over a Threshold of 40ppb) cumulative index was calculated using daytime hourly measurements. The results indicate that the ozone values in the study area are much higher than the critical levels for forest and vegetation based on EU Directive 2008/50/EC.