Wet deposition in Germany: Long-term trends and the contribution of heavy metals

As part of the program of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), precipitation is sampled on a weekly basis from eight sites in different ecosystems throughout Germany. The samples are analyzed for Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl−, NO3−, and SO42− using ion chromatography with conductometrie detection. Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Tl are determined by ICP-MS. In addition, pH and conductivity of the samples are measured. In this paper, the weekly and annual deposition in 1994 is compared for the different sampling sites and with literature data.