Field investigations on the snow chemistry in central and southern California—II. Carbonyls and carboxylic acids

Abstract

Snow samples from central and southern California were collected during the winter of 1987–1988 from there storms and analyzed for carbonyl compounds and carboxylic acids. Approximately 90% of the samples contained total aldehyde concentrations up to 40 μM. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were the dominant aldehydes observed; secondary aldehydes included glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and benzaldehyde. The highest aldehyde concentrations were observed in snow collected in areas where deciduous and coniferous forests are widespread. However, these aldehydes can be attributed also in part to primary and secondary products of anthropogenic activities. Formic and acetic were analyzed in all measured samples with concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4.9 μM for HCOOH and from <0.3 to 13.4 μM for CH_3COOH. Maximum contribution of organic acids to precipitation-free acidity, calculated by assuming that the only sources of the measured formate and acetate were their respective acid forms, averaged 43.1% for samples with a pH⩽5. A consistent correlation between NH_4^+ and acetate was found. [CH_3COOH] exceeded [HCOOH] in about 50% of the samples with the highest levels for CH_3COOH measured in cores collected from lower elevated locations adjacent to the Los Angeles basin. Results presented in this paper suggest that dry deposition and/or scavenging of carbonyl compounds and organic acids to snow may be important sinks for these compounds.

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