A comparison of bulk and wet-only precipitation collectors at rural sites in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Co-Located wet-only and bulk precipitation collectors have been used to measure precipitation amount and ionic composition at nine rural sites in the United Kingdom. The wet-only collector collects less rain, particularly at more exposed, windier sites. This is believed to arise primarily from aerodynamic blockage rather than from late opening of the collector at the onset of rain. In general, agreement between the two types of collector for ionic composition is good. However, at two sites which experience low rainfall and elevated concentrations of primary and secondary pollutants in easterly airflow, the bulk collector yields larger concentrations of non-marine sulphate. Measurements of particulate sulphate suggest that dry deposition of particles is sufficient to explain the observed differences. In contrast, larger ammonium concentrations are measured with the wet-only collector. The observations are consistent with loss of ammonium from the bulk collector, particularly at sites of low annual mean acidity. These differences are greater in summer than in winter suggesting a biological loss mechanism.