Local influences on the composition of precipitation on Bermuda Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The understanding of atmospheric biogeochemical cycles in marine areas depends heavily on the collection and analysis of precipitation samples. However, collection of marine precipitation is difficult due to constraints on sampling locations. For example, the island of Bermuda has been used to characterize the composition of precipitation over the western north Atlantic Ocean. However, Bermuda is a small, heavily populated island and the possibility exists that local processes can influence the composition of precipitation. Using 2 years of data on the composition of precipitation at 2 locations on Bermuda, this paper documents that enrichments of seasalt in Bermuda precipitation, relative to open ocean precipitation, can occur due to oceanisland turbulence. Smaller enrichments of nonseasalt (nss) Ca++, nss SO=4, NH+4 and H+ are also observed. At present it is not possible to determine whether the enrichments are due to island sources or spatial variability in the precipitation scavenging process. By assuming the latter effect to be negligible, the upper limits of the effect of island sources on the concentrations of the nss components (Ca++, SO=4, NO3, H+) are 530%, depending on the species. Precipitation associated with westerly airflow is the least affected by local sources. 1988 Blackwell Munksgaard

published proceedings

  • Tellus B

author list (cited authors)

  • GALLOWAY, J. N., KNAP, A. H., & KEENE, W. C.

citation count

  • 13

complete list of authors

  • GALLOWAY, JAMES N||KNAP, ANTHONY H||KEENE, WILLIAM C

publication date

  • July 1988