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Physico-chemical parameters of wet deposition in Cardiff

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posted on 2022-10-14, 10:39 authored by Elhadi M. Abogrean

 The  issue  of  acid  deposition  and  associated  environmental  problems  has  received  special attention during recent decades and has been the subject of extensive research in a  number  of  countries.    However,  there  are  no  recent  studies  on  acid  deposition  in  Cardiff. Weekly rainfall samples were obtained from two urban areas in Cardiff  from February 2006  to  July  2007  and  analysed  for  pH,  electrical  conductivity  and  major  ions;  SO42−, NO3−,  Cl−,  Ca2+,  Na+,  Mg2+,  K+  and  Pb2+.    The  chemical  composition  of  precipitation  was  analysed  in  conjunction  with  meteorological  variables  to  evaluate  temporal  and  seasonal  variations.  Annual  wet  deposition  was  estimated,  and  enrichment  factors  determined. The pH of individual precipitations fluctuated excessively with a wide range from 4.9 to 6.6  indicating  high  variability  in  the  acid  sources  and  in  neutralisation  processes.  Correlations  between  calcium  and  sulphate  imply  that  CaSO4  may  merge  with  the  rainfall  and  neutralise  the  acidity.  The  volume-weighted  mean  concentrations  of  NO3−and non-sea salt SO42− were 24.1 and 31.4 μeq l−1, respectively.  With the exception of the sea salt ions, no distinct spatial variations in ion composition were observed.  Enrichment  factors  were  calculated  for  most  ions  and  higher  correlation  coefficients  were  obtained  among  most  of  the  ions.  Sea-derived  material  (Na+,  Mg2+ and  Cl−) showed  pronounced  cycles  in  concentration  with  maxima  in  autumn/winter.  The  Cl- (102  kg  ha-1 yr-1)  and  Na+  (66  kg  ha-1 yr-1)  showed  the  highest  wet  deposition  flux  compared to the other ions. Anthropogenic   and   crustal   sources   made   a   significant   contribution   to   both   the   acidification  and  neutralisation  of  precipitation  in  Cardiff.  In  all  rain  samples  SO4-2 concentration  exceeded  NO3- concentration.  Statistical  analysis  showed  no  significant  differences in the physico-chemical parameters of the rainfall samples between the sites when tested at p<0.05. However, the ionic concentrations of wet precipitation depicted significant seasonal differences except for rainfall volume, K+, NO3- and SO4-2 

History

School

  • School of Sport and Health Sciences

Qualification level

  • Doctoral

Qualification name

  • PhD

Publication year

2008

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