Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Precipitation Composition in the Ohio River Valley: Spatial Variability and Temporal Trends

  • Published:
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sulfate (SO4 2−), nitrate (NO3 −) and ammonium (NH4 +) concentrations in precipitation as measured at NADP sites within the Ohio River Valley of the Midwestern USA between 1985 and 2002 are quantified and temporal trends attributed to changes/ variations in (i) the precipitation regime, (ii) emission patterns and (iii) air mass trajectories. The results indicate that mean SO4 2− concentrations in precipitation declined by 37–43% between 1985 and 2002, while NO3 − concentrations decreased by 1–32%, and NH4 + concentrations exhibited declining concentrations at some sites and increasing concentrations at others. The change in SO4 2− concentrations is in broad agreement with estimated reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions. Changes in NO3 − concentrations appear to be less closely related to variations in emissions of oxides of nitrogen and exhibit a stronger dependence on weekly precipitation volume. Up to one quarter of the variability in log-transformed weekly NO3 − concentrations in precipitation is explicable by variations in precipitation volume. Trends in annual average log-transformed SO4 2− concentrations exhibit only a relatively small influence of variability in weekly precipitation amount but at each of the sites considered the variance explanation of annual average log-transformed SO4 2− by sampling year was increased by removing the influence of precipitation volume. Annual mean log-transformed ion concentrations detrended for precipitation volume (by week) and emission changes (by year) exhibit positive correlations at all sites, indicating that the residual variability of SO4 2−, NO3 − and NH4 + may have a common source which is postulated to be linked to synoptic scale variability and air mass trajectories.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baumgardner Jr. R., Lavery, T. F., Rogers, C. M. and Isil, S. S.: 2002, ‘Estimates of the atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen species: clean air status and trends network, 1990–2000’, Environmental Science and Technology 36, 2614–2629.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beverland, I., Crowther, J., Srinivas, M. and Heal, M.: 1998, ‘The influence of meteorology and atmospheric transport patterns on the chemical composition of rainfall in southeast England’, Atmospheric Environment 32, 1039–1048.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buda, A. and DeWalle, D.: 2002, ‘Potential effects of changes in precipitation and temperature on wet deposition in central Pennsylvania’, Atmospheric Environment 36, 3767–3778.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, T. and Likens, G.: 1991, ‘The impact of changing regional emissions on precipitation chemistry in the eastern United States’, Atmospheric Environment 25, 305–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, T., Likens, G. and Stunder, B.: 2001, ‘Regional-scale impacts of Phase I of the Clean Air Act Amendments in the USA: the relation between emissions and concentrations, both wet and dry’, Atmospheric Environment 35, 1015–1028.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, T., Likens, G., Vermeylen, F. and Stunder, B.: 2003, ‘The relation between NO X emissions and recipitation \(NO_{3}^{-}\) in the eastern USA’, Atmospheric Environment 37, 2093–2104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Civerolo, K., Brankov, E., Rao, S. and Zurbenko, I.: 2001, ‘Assessing the impact of the acid deposition control program’, Atmospheric Environment 35, 4135–4148.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Civerolo, K. and Rao, S.: 2001, ‘Space-time analysis of precipitation-weighted sulfate concentrations over the eastern US’, Atmospheric Environment 35, 5657–5661.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Claassen, H. and Halm, D.: 1995a, ‘A possible deficiency in estimates of wet deposition obtained from data generated by the NADP/NTN network’, Atmospheric Environment 29, 437–448.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Claassen, H. and Halm, D.: 1995b, ‘Performance characteristics of an automated wet deposition collector and possible effect on computed annual deposition’, Atmospheric Environment 29, 1021– 1026.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Conko, K., Rice, K. and Kennedy, M.: 2004, ‘Atmospheric wet deposition of trace elements to a suburban environment, Reston, Virginia, USA’, Atmospheric Environment 38, 4025–4033.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, T., Kelly, P., Brimblecombe, P., Farmer, G. and Barthelmie, R.: 1986, ‘Acidity of Scottish rainfall influenced by climate change’, Nature 322, 359–361.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, T., Farmer, G. and Barthelmie, R.: 1990, ‘Use of simple daily atmospheric circulation types for the interpretation of precipitation composition at a site (Eskdalemuir) in Scotland, 1978–1984’, Atmospheric Environment 24, 63–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, T. and Jones, J.: 2000, ‘The influence of climate on air and precipitation chemistry over Europe and downscaling applications to future acidic deposition’, Climate Research 14, 7–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dayan, U. and Lamb, D.: 2003, ‘Meteorological indicators of summer precipitation chemistry in central Pennsylvania’, Atmospheric Environment 37, 1045–1055.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Protection Agency: 2003, Latest Findings on National Air Quality: 2002 Status and Trends. Office of Air Quality and Standards, Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division, Research Triangle Park, NC.

  • Farmer, G., Barthelmie, R., Davies, T., Brimblecombe, P. and Kelly, P.: 1987, ‘Relationships between concentration and deposition of nitrate and sulphate in precipitation’, Nature 328, 787–789.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fay, J. A., Golomb, D. and Kumar, S.: 1986, U.S.-Canada transboundary flows of acid deposition precursors. Transactions of the APCA specialty conference on the Meteorology of Acidic Deposition, pp. 36–44.

  • Garban, B., Motelay-Massei, A., Blanchoud, H. and Ollivon, D.: 2004, ‘A single law to describe atmospheric nitrogen bulk deposition versus rainfall amount: inputs at the Seine River Watershed scale’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 155, 339–354.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, K., Draaijers, G., Wilfried, P., Gundersen, P. and van Leeuwen, N.: 1994, ‘Concentration variations in rain and canopy throughfall collected sequentially during individual rain events’, Atmospheric Environment 28, 3195–3205.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holland, D. M., Caragea, P. and Smith, R. L.: 2004, ‘Regional trends in rural sulfur concentrations’, Atmospheric Environment 38, 1673–1684.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Third Assessment Report, 2001, Climate Change 2001, The Scientific Basis. Cambridge University Press, UK.

  • Karl, T. R. and Knight, R. W.: 1998, ‘Secular trends of precipitation amount, frequency, and intensity in the United States’, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 79, 231–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kistler, R., Collins, W., Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Kalnay, E., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Kanamitsu, M., Kousky, V., van den Dool, H., Jenne, R. and Fiorino, M.: 2001, ‘The NCEP-NCAR 50-Year Reanalysis: Monthly Means CD-ROM and Documentation’, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 82, 247–268.

  • Lamb, D. and Comrie, L.: 1993, ‘Comparability and precision of MAP3S and the NADP/NTN precipitation chemistry data at an acidic site in eastern North America’, Atmospheric Environment 27, 1993–2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, D. and Bowersox, V.: 2000, ‘The national atmospheric deposition program: an overview’, Atmospheric Environment 34, 1661–1663.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J. A., Grimm, J. and Bowersox, V.: 1995, ‘Trends in precipitation chemistry in the US: a national perspective 1980–1992’, Atmospheric Environment 29, 1801–1806.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J. A., Bowersox, V. C. and Grimm, J. W.: 2000, ‘Changes in sulfate deposition in eastern USA following implementation of Phase I of Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990’, Atmospheric Environment 34, 1665–1680.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mathur, R. and Dennis, R.: 2003, ‘Seasonal and annual modeling of reduced nitrogen compounds over the eastern United States: Emissions, ambient levels, and deposition amounts’, Journal of Geophysical Research 108, 4481. doi: 10.1029/2002JD002794.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minoura, H. and Iwasaka, Y.: 1997, ‘Ion concentration changes observed in drizzling rains’, Atmospheric Research 45, 165–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NRSP-3)/National Trends Network. (2003). NADP Program Office, Illinois State Water Survey, 2204 Griffith Dr., Champaign, IL 61820.

  • Nilles, M. and Conley, B.: 2001, ‘Changes in the chemistry of precipitation in the United States, 1981–1998’, Water, Air and Soil Pollution 130, 409–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilles, M., Gordon, J. and Schroder, L.: 1994, ‘The precision of wet atmospheric deposition data from national atmospheric program/national trends network sites determined with collocated samplers’, Atmospheric Environment 28, 1121–1128.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Piette, B. A.: 1986, ‘Quebec's acid rain policy. Transactions of the APCA specialty conference on the Meteorology of Acidic Deposition’, pp. 1–6.

  • Polderman, N. and Pryor, S.: 2004, ‘Linking synoptic-scale climate phenomena to lake-level variability in the Lake Michigan-Huron Basin’, Journal of Great Lakes Research 30, 419–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prado-Fiedler, R.: 1990, ‘On the relationship between precipitation amount and wet deposition of nitrate and ammonium’, Atmospheric Environment 24, 3061–3065.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, S. C., Anlauf, K., Boudries, H., Hayden, K., Schiller, C. and Wiebe, A.: 2004, ‘Spatial and temporal variability of high resolution reduced nitrogen concentrations in the Fraser Valley’, Atmospheric Environment 38, 5825–5836.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, S. C. and Barthelmie, R. J.: 2005, ‘Liquid and chemical fluxes in precipitation, throughfall and stemflow: Observations from a deciduous forest and a red pine plantation in the midwestern USA’, Air, Water and Soil Pollution 163, 203–227.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, S. C., Barthelmie, R. J., Sørensen, L. and Jensen, B.: 2001, ‘Ammonia concentrations and fluxes over a forest in the midwestern USA’, Atmospheric Environment 35, 5645–5656.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwikowski, M., Baltensperger, U., Gaggeler, H. and Poulidas, O.: 1998, ‘Scavenging of atmospheric constituents in mixed phase clouds at the high-alpine site Jungfraujoch part III: quantification of the removal of chemical species by precipitating snow’, Atmospheric Environment 32, 4001–4010.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seinfeld, J. and Pandis, S.: 1998, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: from Air Pollution to Climate Change. Wiley-Interscience, pp. 1326.

  • Shannon, J. D.: 1999, ‘Regional trends in wet deposition of sulfate in the United States and SO2 emissions from 1980 through 1995’, Atmospheric Environment 33, 807–816.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sisterson, D., Wurfel, B. and Lesht, M.: 1985, ‘Chemical differences between event and weekly precipitation samples in northeastern Illinois’, Atmospheric Environment 19, 1453–1469.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • West, J. J., Ansari, A. S. and Pandis, S. N.: 1999, ‘Marginal PM2.5: Nonlinear aerosol mass response to sulfate reductions in the Eastern United States’, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 49, 1415–1424.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atmospheric Science Program, Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    K. F. Kvale & S. C. Pryor

Authors
  1. K. F. Kvale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. C. Pryor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. C. Pryor.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kvale, K.F., Pryor, S.C. Precipitation Composition in the Ohio River Valley: Spatial Variability and Temporal Trends. Water Air Soil Pollut 170, 143–160 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-006-2861-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-006-2861-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation