Geografie 1969, 74, 321-338
Periods of Increasing and Decreasing Concentration of SO2, and the Relation of Wind to the Content of SO2 in the Atmosphere in Prague
In a whole series of areas as well as in Prague itself, SO2 has become the dominant factor in air pollution, and in this way a specific though undesirable component of the geographical setting. In the present paper the author presents the results of his studies of the daily regime of SO2 in the town atmosphere of Prague, and the influence of the velocity and direction of wind upon the content of SO2 in the lower strata of the atmosphere. In these studies he applied a new method introducing new terms, such as: "period of increasing concentration of SO2" and "period of decreasing concentration of SO2". He describes the method in much detail. In the atmosphere of Prague the author discovered four phases in the daily cycle of concentration of SO2: morning increase, forenoon decrease, evening increase and night decrease. He tries to give the reasons for this cycle and compare them with similar occurrences known in other towns. At the same time he studies also the part played by the wind velocity in the formation of individual daily phases. As far as the direction of the wind is concerned, there is a simple dependence: winds blowing from industrial districts bring along higher concentration of SO2 than winds blowing from residential quarters including the town city even in winter when coal heating has been prevailingly used up to now in households in Prague.
