Chemical Composition of Atmospheric Precipitation at Monitoring Sites in Pribaikalye (East Siberia, Russia)

Abstract

This work presents the results of five-year investigations (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014) on the content of water-soluble fraction of heavy metals in atmospheric precipitation in Pribaikalye (Russia). The studies have been performed at the urban (Irkutsk) and rural (Listvyanka) sites within the EANET program (Monitoring of Acid Deposition in East Asia) since 2000. Precipitation was sampled during continuous monitoring. In warm period (May-October), atmospheric precipitation was collected by automatic "wet-only" samplers. In cold season, plastic containers were used for snow sampling. Maximal concentrations of the majority of elements were recorded at site Irkutsk, which is subject to higher anthropogenic impact. The exception was for Pb, Ni and Zn characterized by higher acidity, whose content was higher at the rural site. Maximal concentrations of the majority of elements were recorded in spring during the driest period of the year and minimal in summer with the annual maximal amount of precipitation. Correlation analysis revealed high coefficient of interconnection V and Mn with major acid-forming anions There was no correlation between pH of atmospheric precipitation and concentrations of all heavy metals, except Pb. The results obtained show higher level of pollution of atmospheric precipitation by heavy metals at monitoring sites in Pribaikalye compared to some European countries.

Atmospheric Deposition on the Southwest Coast of the Southern Basin of Lake Baikal

“…In the warm season (May-October), precipitation (rain) was sampled automatically in a mode of continuous monitoring with a US-320 wet-only precipitation collector (Japan). In November-April, precipitation (snow) was collected in plastic containers and stored in a freezer [14]. The falling snow was deposited in a container of a known volume, which was installed at the special sampling site for discrete samples.…”

“…In precipitation, pH, specific electrical conductance, and bicarbonate ions were determined; after filtration through a membrane filter, the concentrations of major ions were measured. Cations in precipitation were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer from VEB Carl Zeiss Jena (Jena, Germany), and anions were determined using the Dionex ICS-3000 Ion Chromatography System (Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) [14]. The methods used to determine the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols and precipitation are recommended by the atmospheric monitoring networks of the international programmes EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) and EANET (Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia).…”