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
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Symposium on potential environmental and health effects of atmospheric sulfur deposition, Gatlinburg, TN, USA, 14 Oct 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SULFATES
WASHOUT
ACID RAIN
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CORRELATIONS
DATA COMPILATION
DISTRIBUTION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
LEAD
MAPS
METALS
MISSOURI
NUCLEATION
POLLUTION SOURCES
RURAL AREAS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
TABLES
URBAN AREAS
ZINC
CHALCOGENIDES
DATA
DATA FORMS
ELEMENTS
INFORMATION
MIDWEST REGION
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRECIPITATION SCAVENGING
RAIN
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
USA
VARIATIONS
500200* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)