Abstract
Volume-weighted pH values in central New Mexico have averaged 3.8 to 5.1 during the period 1979–1985. Samples collected at a high altitude site (3200m) have lower pH values than found for low altitude samples (1400m). Both dry deposition and event-averaged pH values have been higher than the volume-weighted averages due to neutralization by terrestrial material. During the period 1980–1984, changes in pH values and wet sulfate loading have correlated to S02 emissions from regional non-ferrous smelters. Sulfur isotope analyses of sulfate extracted from regional rain samples yielded a δ34SCD(%) of + 3.91 ± 1.1, indicating very little regional differentiation which, in turn, suggests that the regional atmospheric sulfate scavenged by precipitation is well-mixed and relatively homogeneous.
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Popp, C.J., Brandvold, D.K., Long, A. et al. Acidic precipitation in Western North America: Trends, sources, and altitude effects in New Mexico 1979–1985. Water Air Soil Pollut 30, 125–133 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305181
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305181