Chemistry of Cloud Water and Precipitation at an Alpine Mountain Station

Abstract

Cloud water and precipitation samples were monitored using passive cloud water collectors and precipitation gauges in the Bavarian alps for 14 months. The measurements show that the samples from the passive cloud water collector contained larger concentrations of all major ions than precipitation samples, typically by a factor between two and three. These measurements lead to under estimates of the actual cloudwater/precipitation ratios for individual ions, as the passive collectors at these windy sites also collect precipitation. The passive cloud water collectors also collect during ‘dry periods’, and the resulting ‘deposit’ may represent almost half of the collection during cloud and precipitation events.