Kathryn M. Conko*a, Karen C. Riceb and Margaret M. Kennedya
aU. S. Geological Survey, MS 432 National Center, Reston, VA 20192
bU. S. Geological Survey, P. O. Box B, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Wet deposition from a suburban area in Reston, Virginia, USA was collected during 1998 and analyzed to assess the anion and trace-element concentrations and depositions. Suburban Reston, approximately 26 km west of Washington, D.C., is densely populated and heavily developed. Wet deposition was collected bi-weekly in an automated collector using trace-element clean sampling and analytical techniques. The annual volume-weighted concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb were similar to those previously reported for a remote site on Catoctin Mt., Maryland (70 km northwest), which indicated a regional signal for these elements. The concentrations and depositions of Cu and Zn at the suburban site nearly were double those at remote sites because of the effect of local vehicular traffic. The 1998 average annual wet deposition ( μg m-2 yr-1) was calculated for Al (52 000), As (94), Cd (54), Cr (160), Cu (700), Fe (23 000), Mn (2 000), Ni (240), Pb (440), V (430), and Zn (4 100). The average annual wet deposition (meq m-2 yr-1) was calculated for H+ (74), Cl- (8.5), NO3- (33), and SO42-(70). Analysis of digested total trace-element concentrations in a subset of samples showed that the refractory elements in suburban precipitation composed a larger portion of the total deposition of trace elements than in remote areas.
Conko, K.M., Rice, K.C., and Kennedy, M.M., 2004, Atmospheric wet deposition of trace elements to a suburban environment, Reston, Virginia, USA: Atmospheric Environment, v. 38, no. 24, p. 4025-4033. [Abstract]
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