Long-Term Deposition of trace metals at the Integrated Monitoring Site Zöbelboden

Under the UN Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the Environment Agency Austria has been operating the ICP Integrated Monitoring site Zöbelboden for 17 years. During this time, an invaluable inventory of environmental monitoring data has accumulated, permitting the assessment of the effectiveness of international emission reduction measures. Here, we provide a history of heavy metal pollution in a remote area of the Northern Limestone Alps since the 1990s. Declining background concentrations of most of the 11 trace metals monitored correspond to decreasing emissions and indicate the success of transnational abatement efforts. Measurements reveal that woodland receives higher and differently composed metal inputs than treeless terrain. Conspicuous peaks in pollutant trends demonstrate that activities of nearby sources do not go unnoticed in long-term monitoring.