Comparison of precipitation chemistry measurements obtained by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network and National Atmospheric Deposition Program for the period 1995–2004

Abstract

Precipitation chemistry and depth measurements obtained by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) and the US National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) were compared for the 10-year period 1995-2004. Colocated sets of CAPMoN and NADP instrumentation, consisting of precipitation collectors and rain gages, were operated simultaneously per standard protocols for each network at Sutton, Ontario and Frelighsburg, Ontario, Canada and at State College, PA, USA. CAPMoN samples were collected daily, and NADP samples were collected weekly, and samples were analyzed exclusively by each network's laboratory for pH, H(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Na(+), K(+), NH4(+), Cl(-), NO3(-), and SO4(2-). Weekly and annual precipitation-weighted mean concentrations for each network were compared. This study is a follow-up to an earlier internetwork comparison for the period 1986-1993, published by Alain Sirois, Robert Vet, and Dennis Lamb in 2000. Median weekly internetwork differences for 1995-2004 data were the same to slightly lower than for data for the previous study period (1986-1993) for all analytes except NO3(-), SO4(2-), and sample depth. A 1994 NADP sampling protocol change and a 1998 change in the types of filters used to process NADP samples reversed the previously identified negative bias in NADP data for hydrogen-ion and sodium concentrations. Statistically significant biases (alpha = 0.10) for sodium and hydrogen-ion concentrations observed in the 1986-1993 data were not significant for 1995-2004. Weekly CAPMoN measurements generally are higher than weekly NADP measurements due to differences in sample filtration and field instrumentation, not sample evaporation, contamination, or analytical laboratory differences.