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Analysis and assessment of precipitation chemistry at Caribou, Maine

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Abstract

Over the last 30 yr, Caribou, Maine has been the only U.S. collection site which has been a part of all four national precipitation chemistry networks. Due to its remote but strategically important location, the data from this site are very useful in evaluating transboundary transport of the major ions present in precipitation. This paper assesses the reliability of the Caribou data base and looks at the more recent data with the aid of the GAMBIT (Gridded Atmospheric Multilevel Backward Isobaric Trajectory) model. An examination of the historical data base indicates serious contamination problems in pre-1980 samples, particularly with S04 measurements. The trajectory climatology shows that the largest number of precipitation events track along the U.S. coast. Preliminary chemistry measurements indicate highest concentrations of H+ and S04 occur from events associated with trajectories passing through southern Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Air-Resources Laboratory/NOAA, 20910, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    R. S. Artz

  2. Israel Atomic Energy Commission, 70600, Yavne, Israel

    Uri Dayan

Authors
  1. R. S. Artz
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  2. Uri Dayan
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Artz, R.S., Dayan, U. Analysis and assessment of precipitation chemistry at Caribou, Maine. Water Air Soil Pollut 30, 845–855 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00303350

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00303350

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