© Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Abstract. In spite of the strict EU regulations, concentra-tions of surface ozone and PM10 often exceed the pollution standards for the Netherlands and Europe. Their concentra-tions are controlled by (precursor) emissions, social and eco-nomic developments and a complex combination of meteo-rological actors. This study tackles the latter, and provides insight in the meteorological processes that play a role in O3 and PM10 levels in rural mid-latitudes sites in the Nether-lands. The relations between meteorological actors and air quality are studied on a local scale based on observations from four rural sites and are determined by a comprehensive correlation analysis and a multiple regression (MLR) analy-sis in 2 modes, with and without air quality variables as pre-dictors. Furthermore, the objective Lamb Weather Type ap-proach is used to assess the influence of the large-scale circu