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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Deposition of Aerosol Particles in a Forest Using an Atmospheric Residence Time Model

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Usually forests are expected to act as a “filter” for aerosols. This term and the interpretation of earlier observations triggered the thoughts and calculations of this paper. The results indicate that the forest better should be termed “sink” rather then “filter”. The efficiency of a forest to remove particles from the air most probably is caused by the time the aerosol spends in the forest to settle and coagulate. The value of a forest for unpolluted air to the community stems from the fact that on the location of a forest, no polluter is existing. Based on a residence time model of the atmosphere, a model for the forest is developed and compared with published results.