Urban influence on deposition of sulfate and soluble metals in summer rains
Recent observations of abnormally acidic precipitation have raised questions regarding the distribution of acidic precipitation, its time trend, its sources of acidity, and the relevant physical and chemical processes involved in its formation. An attempt was made to answer some of these questions based on the content of sulfate and other materials in the atmosphere and in samples of summer convective rainfall from mesoscale sampling networks near St. Louis. These and other observations in the literature agree that rainfall deposits locally emitted sulfur at short distances downwind of cities. This causes enhanced deposition and concentration of sulfur in local rainfall and increases the local variability of these parameters relative to that of rain and crustally-derived materials, on both daily and seasonal scales. Airborne sulfate concentrations vary by a factor of at least 2 to 4 from urban to rural areas on individual days. This is similar to the observed variation of sulfate deposition or concentrations in rain. Thus, there may be no need to invoke extensive SO/sub 2/ scavenging in rain systems to explain the observed enhancements; nucleation scavenging of atmospheric sulfate appears adequate.
- Research Organization:
- Illinois State Water Survey, Urbana (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-S-02-1199
- OSTI ID:
- 5705508
- Report Number(s):
- COO-1199-59; CONF-791090-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Rainfall changes in summer caused by St. Louis
Second conference on acid rain held in Chongqing
Related Subjects
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CORRELATIONS
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DATA FORMS
DISTRIBUTION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
INFORMATION
LEAD
MAPS
METALS
MIDWEST REGION
MISSOURI
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEATION
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION SOURCES
PRECIPITATION SCAVENGING
RAIN
RURAL AREAS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES
TABLES
URBAN AREAS
USA
VARIATIONS
WASHOUT
ZINC