To study the spatial and temporal variability of tropospheric ozone in the marine boundary layer over the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean), an O3 analyzer has been installed onboard of a passenger vessel traveling on a regular basis in the Aegean Sea (from Heraklion/Crete 35¿30'N, 25¿13'E to Thessaloniki 40¿64'N, 22¿97'E) during a period of 14 months (August 1999 to November 2000). In addition, O3 data have been obtained on a daily basis at the regional background station of Finokalia (Crete; 35¿30'N, 25¿70'E) since September 1997, short-term measurements of O3 were performed over Crete during the PAUR II campaign (May 1999), and the first O3 data from a rural area (40¿32'N, 23¿50'E) close to Thessaloniki at the north of Greece have been collected from March 2000 to January 2001. This survey extensive points out the existence of a well-defined seasonal cycle in boundary layer O3 with maximum in summer both above the Aegean Sea and at Finokalia. However, the seasonal signal (defined as the summer/winter ratio) is not constant and varies as a function of air mass origin from 1.33 to 1.15 for the N-NE and SW-S sectors, respectively, in line with the geographical location of the O3 precursor sources. Our data show the absence of any significant longitudinal gradient over Crete at least during spring and autumn and the absence of significant latitudinal gradient between the north and south Aegean Sea during all seasons for air masses having similar origin. The above results indicate that long-range transport is the main factor accounting for the elevated O3 levels above the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Thus (1) O3 data from Finokalia, where the longest time series are available for the area, have regional significance and (2) over the entire Aegean basin, ozone values are above the 32 ppbv European Union (EU) phytotoxicity limit throughout the year and above the 53 ppbv EU health protection limit most of the time during the dry season of the year. The very significant correlation between black carbon (BC) and O3 observed during an intensive campaign in May 2000 provides an indication that the high O3 concentrations at Finokalia resulted from ageing of air masses strongly affected by combustion processes.