Abstract
In the southeastern coast of Spain bulk deposition was collected, on a daily basis during multiple-day episodes, in order to relate precipitation composition to air mass origins. Samples were analyzed for major ions, in addition to conductivity and alkalinity measurements. The majority of rain had a neutral or alkaline character as a result of neutralization, caused mainly by calcareous soil dust. The occurrence of acidic events or red dust events simultaneously at most stations suggested the influence of transboundary sources. Air mass-trajectories were studied for each of the main events and most of the episodes fell into three main situations: Originating in the Atlantic Ocean, Saharan and Polar continental areas. Chemical rain composition was found to depend on the source area. Meteorological situations with air masses crossing parts of Europe were associated with acidic events. Events coming from the Ocean had a neutral pH and lower concentrations for all species, while those coming from the Sahara have the highest pH values and the highest concentrations for all ions. The relative importance of each source area in southeasterly Mediterranean precipitation was in terms of volume: 62% from Polar Continental, 18% from Saharan, 20% from Oceanic origin. Despite the relative importance of polar continental rainfalls, their acidity is relatively low. The importance of Saharan alkaline rains leads to a net alkaline precipitation in the area.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bellot, J. & Escarre, A. (1988) Balances de nutrientes en pequefias cuencas de encinar. Ii. Quimismo de la precipitación y aportes de origen atmosférico, Mediterranea Ser. Biol. 10, 63–85.
Bridgman, H.A. (1992) Evaluating rainwater contamination and sources in Southeast Australia using factor analysis, Atmos. Environ. 26A, 13, 2401–2412.
Burt, S. (1991) Falls of dust rain within the British Isles, Weather 46, 11, 347–352.
Camarero, L. & Catalan, J. (1993) Chemistry of bulk precipitation in the central and eastern Pyrenees, Northeast Spain,Atmos. Environ., 27A, 1, 83–94.
Camuffo, D., Bernardi, A. & Bacci, P. (1991) Transboundary transport of atmospheric pollutants through the Eastern Alps. Atmos. Environ. 25, 12, 2863–2871.
Carratala, A. (1993) Caracterización química de la prec. en la Comunidad Valenciana. Tesis doctoral 169pp. Crawley, J. & Sievering, H. (1986) Factor analysis of the map3s/rain precipitation chemistry network: 19761980, Atmos. Environ. 20, 5, 1001–1013.
Diaz-caneja, N., Bonet, A., Gutierrez, I., Martinez, A. & Villar, E. (1989) The chemical composition of rainfall in a city of Northern Spain, Water Air Soil Poll. 43, 277–291.
Durand, P., Colin, N. & Lelong, F. (1992) Anthropogenic and natural contributions to the rain chemistry of a mountainous area in Cevennes National Park (Mont-Lozere) France, J. Hydrol. 130, 71–85.
Ezcurra, A., Casado, U., Lacaux, J.P. & Garcia, C. (1988) Relationship between meteorological situations and acid rain in the Spanish Basque Country, Atmos. Environ. 23, 1, 175–184.
Galloway, J.N. (1978) The collection of precipitation for chemical analysis, Tellus, 30, 1, 71–82.
Gatz, D.F., Barnard, W.R. & Stensland, G.J. (1986) The role of alkaline materials in precipitation chemistry: a brief review of the issues, Water Air Soil Poll. 30, 245–251.
Harris, J.M. (1982) The GMCC AtmosphericTrajectory Program, NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL ARL116. Air Resources Laboratory, Rockville, Md.
Khemani, L.T., Momin, G.A., Naik, M.S., Prakassa, Rao, P.S., Safai, P.D. & Murty, A.S.R. (1987) Influence of alkaline particulates on pH of cloud and rain water in India, Atmos. Environ. 21, 5, 1137–1145.
Losno, R., Bergametti, G., Carlier, P. & Mouvier, G. (1991) Major ions in marine rainwater with attention to sources of alkaline and acidic species, Atmos. Environ. 25A, 3–4, 763–770.
Loÿe-Pilot, M.D. & Morelli, J. (1988) Fluctuations of ionic composition of precipitations collected in Corsica related to changes in the origins of incoming aerosols, J. Aerosol Sci. 19, 5, 577–585.
Loye-Pilot, M.D., Martin, J.M. & Morelli, J. (1990) Atmospheric input of inorganic nitrogen to the Western Mediterranean, Biogeochemistry 9, 117–134.
Maring, H., Settle, D.M., Buat-Menard, P., Dulac, F. & Patterson, C.C. (1987) Stable lead isotope tracers of air mass trajectories in the Mediterranean region, Nature 330, 6144, 154–156.
Milian, M.M., Artifiano, B., Alonso, L., Navazo, M. & Castro, M. (1991) The effect of mesa-scale flows on regional and long-range atmospheric transport in the Western Mediterranean area, Atmos. Environ. 25, 5 /6, 949–963.
Naik, M.S., Kemani, L.T., Momin, G.A., Prakassa & Rao, P.S. (1988) Measurements of pH and chemical analysis of rain water in rural areas of India, Acta Meteorol. Sinica 2, 1, 91–100.
Rodà, F., Bellot, J., Avila, A., Escarre, A., Pifol, J. & Terradas, J. (1993) Saharan dust and the atmospheric inputs of elements and alkalinity to Mediterranean ecosystems, Water Air Soil Poll. 66, 277–288.
Samara, C., Tisitouridou, R., & Balafoutis, C.H. (1992) Chemical composition of rain in Thessaloniki, Greece, in relation to meteorological conditions, Atmos. Environ. 26B, 3, 359–367.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Carratala, A., Bellot, J., Gomez, A., Millan, M. (1996). African Dust Influence on Rainwater on the Eastern Coast of Spain. In: Guerzoni, S., Chester, R. (eds) The Impact of Desert Dust Across the Mediterranean. Environmental Science and Technology Library, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3354-0_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3354-0_32
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4764-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3354-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive