Interpretation of Chemistry Analytical Data in Precipitation

강수중 화학성분 분석자료의 해석

Precipitation samples were collected by the wet-only event sampling method at Seoul from September 1991 to April 1995. Concentrations of samples for the ion components($NO_3^-, NO_2^-, SO_4^{2-}, Cl^-, F^-, Na^+, K^+, Ca^{2+}, Mg^{2+}$ and $NH_4^+$) were measured in addition to pH and electric conductivity. During the sampling period, 182 samples were collected, but only 163 samples were identified as valid. The pH, calculated from the volume-weighted $H^+$ concentration, was found to be 4.7, indicating a relatively intensive acidity compared with data from other regions of the world, where acid deposition was known to be a problem. Above all, the concentration of non-seasalt sulfate was $84 \mu eq/L$, which was the highest compared to that measured in other regions of the world. The major acidifying ions in the precipitation at Seoul were identified as sulfate and nitrate except for chloride, because the Cl/Na ratio in the precipitation was close to the ratio in seawater. If all of the non-seasalt sulfate and nitrate existed in the form of sulfuric and nitric acids, respectively, the average pH in the precipitation was calculated as 3.7, lower than the measured value. Consequently, the difference between the calculated and measured pH suggest that the acidity of precipitation was neutralized by alkaline species, not due to the low contribution of an anthropogenic air pollutants to the precipitation. The equivalent concentration ratio of sulfate to nitrate was 3.5, which indicated that the contributions of sulfuric and nitric acids to the precipitation acidity were 78% and 22%, respectively.