Depositional Aspects of Pollutant Behavior in Fog and Intercepted Clouds

Abstract

Droplet deposition during fog is shown to play an important role in the removal of anthropogenic pollutants from the atmosphere. Relevant theoretical principles are reviewed. The in-cloud scavenging of aerosols and soluble gases coupled with the small size of fog droplets results in higher chemical concentrations in fog water than in rainwater. In the urban regions of southern California and the southern San Joaquin Valley, fog water chemistry is dominated by sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium ions, which are measured at millimolar levels. The formation of fog is shown to accelerate deposition rates for water-scavenged atmospheric constituents. During stagnation episodes, pollutant removal by ventilation of valley air requires at least 5 days, while the enhancement of deposition by fog formation leads to pollutant lifetimes on the order of 6-12 h. Thus, in an environment characterized by flat, open landscape and low wind speed, droplet sedimentation can be the dominant removal mechanism of pollutants during prolonged stagnation episodes with fog.

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