Abstract
Fresh surface snow samples were collected at the summit or near the summit (700 - 1500 m altitude) of five mountains in Akita Pref., Japan. The elemental composition and particle shape of insoluble material in these snow samples was determined and/or observed by Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) combined with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. 21 kinds of elements for each mountain snow sample were determined by PIXE. Na , Mg , Al , Si , P , S , Cl , K , Ca , Ti and Fe were the major components in each of the mountain snow samples, and those in relative abundance were almost the same in each case. With the aid of SEM and EDX analysis, silicon-rich small sphere (spherule) particles and aggregates of car exhaust particles were observed in every mountain snow sample. These results are represented as insoluble components of clouds and provide important knowledge for the source and mechanism of snowfall and rainfall at the ground level.
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