Airborne trace metals in snow on the Japan Sea side of Japan

Prevailing seasonal weather patterns produce a homogeneous distribution of snow from the coast to the mountains in the Hokuriku region on the Japan Sea (west) side of Japan. Daily snowfall was collected on polyethylene foils at six sites along the coast, in city areas and in the inland mountains. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmospheric environment. Part A, General topics General topics, 1990, Vol.24 (10), p.2593-2600
Main Authors: Ecker, Franz-Josef, Hirai, Eiji, Chohji, Tetsuji
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Prevailing seasonal weather patterns produce a homogeneous distribution of snow from the coast to the mountains in the Hokuriku region on the Japan Sea (west) side of Japan. Daily snowfall was collected on polyethylene foils at six sites along the coast, in city areas and in the inland mountains. The samples were analyzed for pH and the soluble and insoluble fractions of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn. Comparison of the data from the various sites allowed an estimate of the regional background concentration of the trace metals. The contribution of trace metals derived from sea spray and Kosa-loess particles was found to be of minor importance to the regional background. The pH values of melted snow averaged around 4.6 over a range of 3 pH units, with the greatest fluctuations at the seaside and mountain sites. In the cities, these pH fluctuations occurred within a narrower and generally lower pH spectrum.
ISSN:0960-1686
DOI:10.1016/0960-1686(90)90137-C