12 years of 7Be and 210Pb in Mt. Cimone, and their correlation with meteorological parameters

Simultaneous measurements of airborne radionuclides 7Be and 210Pb, together with aerosol mass load PM10, have been routinely carried out at the Global WMO-GAW station of Mt. Cimone (Italy, 2165 m a.s.l., 44° 12′ N, 10° 42′ E) from 1998 to 2011. The experimental activity was started with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the vertical and horizontal transports taking place at this site affecting the atmospheric chemical composition. The time series of the collected data is presented and discussed in this paper. The 7Be concentrations in this period are in the range 0.05-15.8 mBq m−3 with the presence of two distinct relative maxima during winter/spring and summer, suggesting an origin from different physical processes. The 210Pb concentrations collected during the period are in the range 0.05-2.30 mBq m−3 and are characterized by a single maximum during the warm period. The 7Be/210Pb ratio was in the range 0.5-127.8 and is characterized by a maximum during the cold period. The frequency distributions of the three parameters and the seasonal/interannual variabilities are investigated and presented.