Evaluation of the effect of weather on concentrations of airborne Artemisia pollen using circular statistic

Abstract

The diurnal pollen pattern of <em>Artemisia </em>seems to be similar in many regions in Central and Eastern Europe, with its highest concentration before noon. This research is a continuation of a preliminary study that was carried out in Rzeszów 10 years ago. The Spearman nonparametric correlation test and the angular-linear correlation were used to verify assumptions about the influence of meteorological parameters on daily and hourly variations of <em>Artemisia </em>pollen concentrations in the atmosphere. The results showed that the patterns of hourly and daily <em>Artemisia </em>pollen concentration in the air of Rzeszów did not differ significantly from the results obtained in previous years, except PI value which was significantly lower. The majority of <em>Artemisia </em>pollen grains appeared in the air before noon and in the early afternoon. However, on some days the peaks occurred around midnight. The hourly and daily <em>Artemisia </em>pollen concentrations were strongly influenced by temperature and relative humidity. Daily concentration was also influenced by radiation and sunshine duration. We do not exclude other factors, such as secondary deposition and long distance transport. We proposed circular statistics as an appropriate method of analysis of the relationship between meteorological parameters and hourly airborne pollen concentration.