Acid deposition at the summit of Mt. Fuji: Observations of gases, aerosols and precipitation in summer,1993 and 1994

Abstract

Intensive observations of chemical species in aerosols, gases and other samples at the summit of Mt. Fuji and at Tarobo (at 1300m on the mountain'ts southern slope) was performed from July 28 to Aug. 3, 1993 and from July 25 to 30,1994. The most interesting observation was the abrupt increase in the sulfate concentration in aerosol collected in July, 1993 just after the typhoon (number 9306) passed the Japanese archipelago and the wind direction shifted from south to west. Chemical analysis indicated this aerosol was acidic. In contrast, the summit aerosol observed in 1994 was not acidic following a less dramatic rise in sulfate content. Back trajectory analyses were used to extrapolate from these measurement to an inventory of polluted air over the Asian Continent. The concentrations of gaseous SO2 and HCl remained low during both observation periods, with some higher concentrations of NH3.