Rainwater source-receptor relationships near an isolated SO/sub 2/ emission source. [Puget Sound area]

Conference · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5547448

Vong, R J; Larson, T V; Zoller, W H; Covert, D S; Charlson, R J; Sweet, I R; Peterson, R E; Miller, T L; O'Loughlin, J F; Stevenson, M N

It is important to improve our understanding of the complex relationships between emissions and subsequent deposition of atmospheric sulfur compounds. These relationships are difficult to examine in the northeastern United States and in central Europe, because the relative contributions of local and distant emissions vary. In the Puget Sound area of Washington State clean background air moves inland from the Pacific Ocean past a relatively small number of emission sources. Most precipitation falls as rain and is associated with cyclonic frontal systems which result in steady southwesterly air flow aloft. The combination of a clean background, very few sulfur sources, and consistent meteorology suggests that rainwater source-receptor relationships may be simpler in the Puget Sound area than elsewhere. The two major SO/sub 2/ emission sources in western Washington are a copper smelter located in Tacoma, WA (4 kg/sec SO/sub 2/) and a coal fired power plant located near Centralia, WA (1.7 kg/sec SO/sub 2/). The copper smelter was permanently shut down in March 1985, presenting an opportunity to validate source-receptor calculations by performing measurements both before and after the smelter closed. This paper includes a discussion of the measurements performed prior to the smelter shutdown. The approach taken to estimate the impact of the copper smelter on mesoscale rainwater composition was to determine the spatial and temporal variability of several appropriate chemical species in the rainwater.

• Research Organization: Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Washington FC-05, Seattle, WA 95195
• OSTI ID: 5547448
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Journal Volume: 31:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ACID RAIN
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
AIR QUALITY
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