Wales receives rainfall for about 210 days in a year. Chemical characteristics of rainfall and its seasonal variation at the Llandaff campus station located in Cardiff, Wales were studied for the period from June 2003 to July 2004. The station is located in an urban area about 3 km north of Cardiff centre. The rainwater samples were collected weekly using bulk precipitation techniques and analysed for pH and major ion concentration by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The samples were collected from two sample collectors at different heights and separated by about 200 m, the ground level of house sample being designated (Hs) and upper level of roof sample (Rs).
Over the period of investigation, the volume of rainfall measured was almost the same for Hs and Rs. The pH of Hs and Rs was 5.6 and 5.3, respectively. Average wet deposition of ions in parts per million (ppm) of Hs and Rs were: Mg2+ (0.56, 0.73), Na+ (7.3, 8.0), Ca2+ (3.17, 3.10), K+ (3.03, 1.76), and Cl- (10.6, 12.0). The ratio of the total average concentration of chloride to that of sodium for Hs and Rs are 1.45 and 1.5, respectively, which is close to the ratio of seawater, 1.8. Seasonal variations for some major ions appear to be pronounced. Generally, the maximum pH occurred in the autumn season and the minimum pH in winter season for both samples. Dust, insects, and tree debris found in both samples may have been the reason for the increased pH, and was more pronounced in the Hss. This study provides the influence of wet deposition in Cardiff.
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Abogrean, E., Karani, G., Collins, J., Cook, R. (2007). Wet deposition at Llandaff station in Cardiff. In: Morrison, G.M., Rauch, S. (eds) Highway and Urban Environment. Alliance For Global Sustainability Bookseries, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6010-6_14
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