[Low molecular weight carboxylic acids in precipitation during the rainy season in the rural area of Anshun, West Guizhou Province].

40 rainwater samples were collected at Anshun from June 2007 to October 2007 and analysed in terms of pH values, electrical conductivity, major inorganic anions and soluble low molecular weight carboxylic acids. The results showed that pH of individual precipitation events ranged from 3.57-7.09 and the volume weight mean pH value was 4.57. The most abundant carboxylic acids were acetic (volume weight mean concentration 6.75 micromol x L(-1)) and formic (4.61 micromol x L(-1)) followed by oxalic (2.05 micromol x L(-1)). The concentration levels for these three species during summer especially June and July were comparatively high; it implied that organic acids in Anshun may came primarily from emissions from growing vegetations or products of the photochemical reactions of unsaturated hydrocarbons. Carboxylic acids were estimated to account for 32.2% to the free acidity in precipitation. The contribution was higher than in Guiyang rainwater, which indicated contamination by industry in Guiyang was more than in Anshun. The remarkable correlation(p = 0.01) between formic acid and acetic acid suggest that they have similar sources or similar intensity but different sources. And the remarkable correlation (p = 0.01) between and formic acid and oxalic acid showed that the precursors of oxalic acid and formic acid had similar sources. During this period, the overall wet deposition of carboxylic acids were 2.10 mmol/m2. And it appeared mainly in the summer, during which both concentration and contribution to free acidity were also relatively high. Consequently, it was necessary to control emission of organic acids in the summer to reduce frequence of acid rain in Anshun.

[Low-molecular-weight organic acids in precipitation in Zunyi City, Guizhou province].

Formic (HCOOH) and acetic (CH3COOH) acids are ubiquitous in troposphere. Studies on the low-molecular carboxylic acids help shed light on the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, as well as on the formation of acid precipitation. As a city with severe acid precipitation, the city Zunyi in north Guizhou province, provide a typical background for gaining insight into the organic geochemistry in the heavily polluted atmospheric environment. We collected the precipitation in the downtown city for a whole year on the event basis, and measured inorganic and organic anions with ion chromatograph and cations with atomic absorption spectroscopy. The data demonstrate an annual average pH of 4.11, a clear indication of the acid atmosphere. The volume-weighted mean concentrations of [HCOO-]T and [CH3COO-]T were 9.29 micromol x L(-1) (ranged from 0.15 micromol x L(-1) to 46.14 micromol x L(-1)) and 6.47 micromol x L(-1) (ranged from 0.02 micromol x L(-1) to 19.11 micromol x L(-1)) respectively, accounting for 4.10% of the total anions. With a coefficient of 0.86, formic is significantly correlated with acetic acid, suggesting that both acids share common sources. The acids often decrease with time in a precipitation event, with occasional increases in the middle and last stages, indicating that the organic acids are primarily scavenged from blow cloud, with limited amount from the long distance transportation. The close range provenance of organic acids is facilitated by the local environmental condition, which is characterized by the mountain-enclosed valley with high humidity, low wind speed, and high atmospheric dust content. Based on the Henry's Law, we proposed the ratio of formic and acetic acids in the precipitation (F/A)aq as the indicator of the sources, and thus found that the anthropogenic sources are responsible for the organic compounds in the Spring and Winter, while vegetation emissions claim the sources in the Summer and Autumn.