Chemical characteristics of wet precipitation at an urban site of Guangzhou, South China

The pH variation and chemical characteristics of rainwater were investigated from January 2006 to December 2006 at an urban site of Guangzhou, South China. The rainwater was typically acidic with a volume-weighted mean pH value of 4.49, which ranged from 3.52 to 6.28. The volume-weighted mean equivalent concentration of components followed the order: SO42− > Ca2+ > Cl− > NH4+ > Na+ > NO3− > K+ > Mg2+ > F−, indicating that SO42−, Cl− and NO3− were the main anions, while Ca2+ and NH4+, were the main cations. Ca2+ and NH4+ were major neutralization constituents of the precipitation. Furthermore, correlation analysis and principal component analysis method were performed to identify possible common sources of major ions. Sources of the major ions were assessed based on enrichment factor method.