Wet‐only sequential deposition in a rural area in north‐eastern Spain |
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| Authors: | ANDRÉS ALASTUEY XAVIER QUEROL AURA CHAVES ANGEL LOPEZ&#;SOLER CARMEN R RUIZ |
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| Institution: | Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra 'Jaume Almera', CSIC, C/Lluis SoléSabarí, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;;Instituto de Carboquímica, CSIC. C/Poeta Luciano Gracia, 5. 50015 Zaragoza, Spain |
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| Abstract: | The present work summarises the results of a 2‐year study of wet‐only sequential deposition in 2 rural areas (Alcan¯iz and Morella) located at different distances from a large coal‐fired power station. Precipitation chemistry was characterised by relatively high  , Ca2+ and  average concentrations. Sequential study of single precipitation events showed that concentrations of most of the ions studied decreased exponentially throughout single precipitation events, with a sharper decrease in concentrations at the beginning of the event. Usually, 40 to 80% of the wet‐only deposition of major ions occurred in the first 2 mm. pH measurements, ranging from 5.6 to 8.1, showed a decrease in the pH values throughout a precipitation event. Deposition levels of Ca2+ and  accounted for the neutralisation of major acidic species in the precipitation events except in 5 rain episodes sampled at Morella. The sequential study of the evolution of the  ratio during a single precipitation allowed us to identify potential acidic rainfall fractions after an initial volume of precipitation, after most of the Ca2+ in atmospheric particles had been scavenged. A higher neutralisation capacity was deduced for Alcan¯iz owing to the higher atmospheric levels of natural carbonates and  . |
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