The acidification process under the cloud in southwest China: Observation results and simulation

Mean ionic concentrations in rain water (RW) and cloud water (CW) for urban, suburban and rural locations in southwest (SW) and eastern (E) China, from sampling periods between 1985 and 1989 are reported. In SW China the ammonium, calcium and hydrogen cations, and the sulphate anion are present at elevated levels in urban RW. The mean concentrations of these ions are all lower in CW, so that washout is the predominant process leading to acidification. Washout is also important over suburban regions but rainout provides most of the acidity of precipitation in rural areas. Simultaneous observations of CW and RW concentrations over short time intervals have confirmed the dominance of washout processes in the large cities Chongqing and Guiyang. The chemical compositions of CW and RW exhibit changes with the weather system behaviour as well as with the sampling location. In E China the acidity of rainfall is largely neutralized by alkaline particulates. The mean ionic concentrations in RW show an increasing trend from 1985 to 1988. The ambient air quality in China has deteriorated over the same period, with concentrations of sulphur dioxide and suspended particulates at high levels. The below-cloud acidification process has been simulated by a model which includes scavenging of both gas and aerosol species. The importance of rainout, gas washout or aerosol washout processes is found to vary with the location and with the different ion species considered. Gas washout always leads to overall acidification. Aerosol alkalization has been identified in some suburban areas. The effects on the rainwater acidification predicted from the reduction of sulphur dioxide gas emissions have also been simulated, and are expected to be negligible at Chongqing and Guiyang. The concentration of the hydrogen peroxide oxidant, not that of the pollutant sulphur dioxide, is the controlling factor for the pH of the rainfall in these regions.