Abstract
Spatial variation of long term annual precipitation volume weighted concentrations of major chemical constituents (SO4 −2, NO3 −, Cl−, NH4 +, Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+ and K+ ) at all the ten Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) stations in India for the period from 1981 to 2012 is studied in this paper. Ionic abundance and balance is studied as well. The range of long term annual mean pH at ten stations was 5.25 ± 0.82 to 6.91 ± 0.76, lowest at Mohanbari and highest at Jodhpur. The long term annual mean pH for the period 1981–2012 showed decreasing trend at all the stations (significant at 5 % level). Decadal mean pH among ten stations for 1981–1990, 1991–2000 and 2001–2012 ranged between 7.31 to 5.76, 7.45 to 4.92 and 6.16 to 4.77 respectively and showed decreasing trend at all the stations during 1981–1990 to 2001–12. The percentage occurrence of acidic pH (<5.65) at ten stations ranged from 3 to 72 %, lowest at Jodhpur and highest at Mohanbari and it increased from 1981–1990 to 2001–2012 almost at all the stations. Temporal variation of annual mean values of nssSO4 −2, NO3 −, Ca+2 and pH for the study period were attempted. Variation of nss K (non sea salt Potassium) at all the stations was studied to assess the biomass burning contribution in different regions. Non-marine (terrestrial) contribution dominated for majority of ionic constituents at most of the stations. However marine contribution was found to be dominant for Mg at Port Blair and Minicoy. Also sea salt fraction of SO4 was higher than terrestrial at Minicoy. Sources of measured ionic constituents in rain water are assessed through correlation analysis. The concentrations of all the ionic species were lowest at Kodaikanal, a high altitude hill top station and the total ionic mass was 136.0 μeq/l. Jodhpur, an arid station not only had highest concentrations of Ca+2, SO4 −2 and K+ but also had highest total ionic content (1051.8 μeq/l) among all the stations. At Srinagar, Jodhpur, Allahabad, Nagpur and Pune stations Ca+2 was the dominant cation while dominant anion was NO3 − for Srinagar, Allahabad, and Nagpur and Cl− for Jodhpur and Pune; at Mohanbari NO3 − and Ca+2; at Visakhapatnam, Port Blair and Minicoy Na+ and Cl− were abundant. Temporal variation had shown an increasing trend for nssSO4 −2 and NO3 − and obviously decreasing trend for pH at all the stations. However, Ca+2 showed a decreasing trend at all the stations except at Port Blair. With the exception of Pune and Jodhpur stations, nssK showed a decreasing trend at all the stations revealing decreasing influence of soil/biomass burning over Indian GAW stations. Negative correlation of pH with SO4 −2 was found to be weak compared to NO3 –.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asokan, R., Ramanan, S.R., Nair, E.K.N.K.: Major inorganic ion composition of rain water at some GAW (BAPMoN) stations in India. Mausam 54(3), 763–767 (2003)
Avila, A., Roda, F.: Assessing decadal changes in rainwater alkalinity at a rural Mediterranean site in the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain). Atmos. Environ. 36, 2881–2890 (2002)
Ayers, G.P., Peng, L.C., Fook, L.S., Kong, C.W., Gillett, R.W., Manins, P.C.: Atmospheric concentrations and deposition of oxidized sulfur and nitrogen species at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 1993–1998. Tellus 52B, 60–73 (2000)
Budhavant, K.B., Rao, P.S.P., Safai, P.D., Ali, K.: Chemistry of Monsoon and Post-Monsoon Rains at a High Altitude Location, Sinhagad, India. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 9, 65–79 (2009)
Cerqueira, M.R.F., Pinto, M.F., Derossi, I.N., Esteves, W.T., Santos, M.D.R., Matos, M.A.C., Lowinsohn, D., Matos, R.C.: Chemical characteristics of rainwater at a southeastern site of Brazil. Atmos. Pollut. Res. 5, 253–261 (2014)
Das, N., Baral, S.S., Mahapatra, P.S., Das, T., Chaudhury, G.R., Das, S.N.: Trend in chemical composition of precipitation during 2005–2009 at a rural station of Bhubaneswar, eastern India. Theor. Appl. Climatol. 110, 55–63 (2012)
Fay, J.A., Golomb, D., Kumar, S.: Modelling of the 1900–1980 trend of precipitation chemistry at Hubbard Brook, New Hamsphere. Atmos. Environ. 20, 1825–1828 (1980)
Feng, Z., Huang, Y., Feng, Y., Ogura, N., Zhang, F.: Chemical composition of precipitation in Beijing area Northern China. Water Air Soil Pollut. 125, 345–356 (2001)
Flues, M., Hama, P., Lemes, M.J.L., Dantas, E.S.K., Fornaro, A.: Evaluation of the rainwater acidity of a rural region due to a coal–fired power plant in Brazil. Atmos. Environ. 36, 2397–2404 (2002)
Forti, M.C., Melfi, A.J., Astolfo, R., Fostier, A.H.: Rainfall chemistry composition in two ecosystems in the northeastern Brazilian Amazon (Amapa State). J. Geophys. Res. 105(D23), 28,895–28,905 (2000)
Freydier, R., Dupre, B., Lacaux, J.P.: Precipitation chemistry in inter tropical Africa. Atmos. Environ. 32, 749–765 (1998)
Galloway, J.N., Likens, G.E., Kenee, W.C., Miller, J.M.: The composition of precipitation in remote areas of the world. J. Geophys. Res. 89, 1447–1458 (1982)
Galloway, J.N., Zhao, D., Xiong, J., Liken, G.E.: Acid rain: China, United States, and a remote area. Science 236, 1559–1562 (1987)
Gromping, A.H.J., Ostapczuk, P., Emons, H.: Wet deposition in Germany: long–term trends and the contribution of heavy metals. Chemosphere 34, 2227–2236 (1997)
Handa, B.K.: Chemistry of monsoon rain over Calcutta, Part 1 and Part 2. Tellus 21, 95–106 (1969)
IMD (India Meteorological Department): Atmospheric turbidity and precipitation chemistry data from Background Air Pollution Monitoring Network stations in India (1973–1980). (1982)
Junge, C.E.: Air chemistry and radioactivity. Academic, New York (1963)
Keene, W.C., Galloway, J.N., Holden Jr., J.D.: Measurement of weak organic acidity in precipitation from remote areas of the world. J. Geophys. Res 88, 5122–5130 (1983)
Keene, W.C., Pszenny, A.A., Galloway, J.N., Hartley, M.E.: Sea-salt corrections and interpretation of constituent ratios in marine precipitation. J. Geophys. Res. 91, 6647–6658 (1986)
Khemani, L.T., Momin, G.A., Naik, M.S., Rao, P.S.P., Kumar, R., Ramana, M.V.: Trace elements and sea salt aerosols over the sea areas around the Indian subcontinent. Atmos. Environ. 19, 277–284 (1985)
Khemani, L.T., Momin, G.A., Rao, P.S.P., Safai, P.D., Singh, G., Kapoor, R.K.: Spread of acid rain over India. Atmos. Environ. 23, 757–762 (1989)
Kulshrestha, U.C., Sarkar, A.K., Srivastava, S.S., Parashar, D.C.: Investigation into atmospheric deposition through precipitation studies at New Delhi (India). Atmos. Environ. 30, 4149–4154 (1996)
Kulshrestha, U.C., Granat, L., Engardt, M., Rodhe, H.: Review of precipitation monitoring studies in India—a search for regional patterns. Atmos. Environ. 39, 7403–7419 (2005)
Kumar, B., Singh, S., Gupta, G.P., Lone, F.A., Kulshrestha, U.C.: Long range transport and wet deposition fluxes of major chemical species in snow at Gulmarg in North Western Himalayas (India). Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 16, 606–617 (2016)
Lacaux, J.P., Servant, J., Baudet, J.G.R.: Acid rain in tropical forest of the Ivory Coast. Atmos. Environ. 21, 2643–2647 (1987)
Larssen, T., Carmichael, G.R.: Acid rain and acidification in China: the importance of base cation deposition. Environ. Pollut. 110, 89–102 (2000)
Larssen, T., Seip, H.M., Semb, A., Mulder, J., Muniz, I.P., Vogt, R.D., Lydersen, E., Angell, V., Tang, D., Eilertsen, O.: Acid deposition and its effects in China: an overview. Environ. Sci. Pol. 2, 9–24 (1999)
Legrand, M.R., Delmas, R.: Formation of HCL in the Antarctic atmosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 7153–7168 (1988)
Loye-Pilot, M.D., Martin, J.M., Morelli, J.: Influence of Saharan dust on the rain acidity and atmospheric input to the Mediterranean. Nature 321, 427–428 (1986)
Maske, S.J., Nand, K.: Studies on chemical constituents of precipitation over India. Mausam 33(2), 241–246 (1982)
Morales, J.A., Bifano, C., Escalona, A.: Atmospheric deposition of SO4-S and (NH4+NO3) –N at two rural sites in the western Maracaibo lake Basin, Venezuala. Atmos. Environ. 32(17), 3051–3058 (1998)
Mukherjee, A.K.: Hydrogen ion concentration of monsoon rain water at Calcutta. Ind. J. Met. Geophys. 8, 321–324 (1957)
Mukherjee A.K.: Shower management of environment. In: Patel, B. (ed) pp. 477–483. Wiley Eastern Ltd., (1980)
Mukhopadhyay, B., Dattar, S.V., Srivastava, H.N.: Precipitation chemistry over the Indian region. Mausam 43, 249–258 (1992)
Naik, M.S., Momin, G.A., Rao, P.S.P., Safai, P.D., Ali, K.: Chemical composition of rainwater around an industrial region in Mumbai. Curr. Sci. 82, 1131–1137 (2002)
Norman, M., Das, A.N., Pillai, A.G., Granat, L., Rodhe, H.: Influence of air mass trajectories on the chemical composition of precipitation in India. Atmos. Environ. 35, 4223 (2001)
Rao, P.S.P., Momin, G.A., Safai, P.D., Pillai, A.G., Khemani, I.T.: Rainwater and throughfall chemistry in the Silent Valley forest in south India. Atmos. Environ. 29, 2025–2029 (1995)
Rogora, M., Mosello, R., Marchetto, A.: Longterm trends in the chemistry of atmospheric deposition in northwestern Italy: the role of increasing Saharan dust deposition. Tellus 56, 426–434 (2004)
Safai, P.D., Rao, P.S.P., Momin, G.A., Ali, K., Chate, D.M., Praveen, P.S.: Chemical composition of precipitation during 1984-2002 at Pune, India. Atmos. Environ. 38, 1705–1714 (2004)
Sarkar, J., Gadgil, A.S., Mukherjee, A.K., Soni, V.K.: Analyzing rainwater chemistry at the continental GAW statin Nagpur. Mausam 57(4), 653–662 (2006)
Sequeira, R.: Monsoonal deposition of sea salt and air pollutatns over Bombay. Tellus 28, 275–281 (1976)
Seto, S., Nakamura, A., Noguchi, I., Ohizumi, T., Fukuzaki, N., Toyama, S., Maeda, M., Hayashi, K., Hara, H.: Annual and seasonal trends in chemical composition of precipitation in Japan during 1989–1998. Atmos. Environ. 36, 3505–3517 (2002)
Shende, R.R.: Changes in trends of pH over BAPMoN stations in India. Vayu Mandal 30, 36–43 (2000)
Sickles, I.I.J.E., Grimm, J.W.: Wet deposition from clouds and precipitation in three high-elevation regions of the Eastern United States. Atmos. Environ. 37, 277–288 (2003)
Soni, V.K., Sarkar, J.: Long term variation in precipitation acidity over the Indian Global Atmospheric Watch Stations. Asian J. Water Environ. Pollut. 3, 35–41 (2005)
Soni, V.K., Kannan, P.S., Ghanekar, S.G., Ravindran, U., Gaikwad, A.N.: Long term variation in chemical composition of precipitation and wet deposition of major ions at Minicoy and Port Blair Islands in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Mausam 57, 489–498 (2006)
Tang, A., Zhuang, G., Wang, Y., Yuan, H., Sun, Y.: The chemistry of precipitation and its relation to aerosol in Beijing. Atmos. Environ. 39, 3397–3406 (2005)
Tiwari, S., Ranade, A., Deewan, S.B.: Study of chemical species in rainwater at Balia, a rural environment in east Uttar Pradesh, India. Indian J. Radio Space Phys. 35, 35–41 (2006)
Tiwari, S., Srivastava, M.K., Deewan, S.B.: Chemical composition of rainwater in Panipat, an industrial city in Haryana. Indian J. Radio Space Phys. 37, 443–449 (2008)
Tu, J., Wang, H., Zhang, Z., Jin, X., Li, W.: Trends in chemical composition of precipitation in Nanjing, China, during 1992–2003. Atmos. Res. 73, 283–298 (2005)
Vermeulen, A.J.: Polluted rain. In: (ed) Toribara Plenum Press, New York (1980)
Vet, R., Artz, R.S., Carou, S., Shaw, M., Ro, C.-U., Aas, W., Baker, A., Bowersox, V.C., Dentener, F., Galy-Lacaux, C., Hou, A., Pienaar, J.J., Gillett, R., Forti, M.C., Gromov, S., Hara, H., Khodzher, T., Mahowald, N.M., Nickovic, S., Rao, P.S.P., Reid, N.W.: A global assessment of precipitation chemistry and deposition of sulfur, nitrogen, sea salt, base cations, organic acids, acidity and pH, and phosphorus. Atmos. Environ. 93(Special Issue), 3–116 (2014)
WMO GAW TD no. 1251.: Manual for the GAW Precipitation Chemistry Programme- Guidelines, Data Quality Objectives and Standard Operating Procedures (2004)
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the Additional Director General of Meteorology (Research), India Meteorological Department, Pune not only for supplying the required precipitation chemistry data but also guiding, encouraging and providing the required facilities for the study. Thanks are also due to the Director, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bhaskar, V.V., Rao, P.S.P. Annual and decadal variation in chemical composition of rain water at all the ten GAW stations in India. J Atmos Chem 74, 23–53 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-016-9339-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-016-9339-3