Abstract
Nitrogen is an element essential for building fundamental blocks of life. When present in excess amount in air, it causes adverse effects for the environment and human health.Different air pollutants when scavenged through rains are deposited on the surface. The chemical composition of rain water is an indicator of the levels of different air pollutants in the region. The present study reports the concentrations of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and the reactive nitrogen species (NO3- and NH4+) in rain water at an urban site located in the Saharsa district of Bihar. The sampling was carried out during July 2018 to October 2018.Total 18 samples were collected during this period. Results showed that the concentration of NO3- was considerably higher (2.91 mg/L)ranging from 0.26 to 11.84 mg/L than the NH4+(0.84 mg/L) ranging from 0.00 to 3.2 mg/L.The pH value in the samples ranged from 5.50 to 7.68 with a mean value of 6.52.The DOC in rain water has been estimated by using the Shimadzu TOC analyzer. Apart from DOC, total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN) & inorganic carbon (IC) have also been also analyzed by Shimadzu TOC analyzer. The results showed that both anthropogenic and natural sources contributed to the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rain water. The linkages between the sources and the transformations of gaseous NH3 with DOC have been established considering the fact that most of TN is represented by NH3.Airmass back trajectory analysis showed that the site has trans-boundary source influence from Bay of Bengal and Bangladesh. The study suggests that there is need of continuous monitoring of these parameters in air in order to notice any impact on human health, soil and vegetation.
Highlights
Air pollution is perceived as a major issue due to increased urbanization and industrialization.Nitrogen is a major atmospheric constituent.It makes up around 78% by volume of the Earth’s atmosphere
A fraction of such carbon is soluble in rain water called dissolved organic carbon (DOC) which passes through the filter
The pH values in the samples ranged from 5.5 to 7.68 with a mean value of 6.52 (Fig. 2) The alkaline nature of the observed sample is mainly because of high loadings of suspended CaCO3 rich particulate matter in the atmosphere which is a common feature of Indian region.[6,15]
Summary
Air pollution is perceived as a major issue due to increased urbanization and industrialization.Nitrogen is a major atmospheric constituent.It makes up around 78% by volume of the Earth’s atmosphere. Wet deposition plays an important role in removing the organic carbon from the atmosphere.[9] A fraction of such carbon is soluble in rain water called dissolved organic carbon (DOC) which passes through the filter. The sources of NO3-mainly include combustion of fossil fuel, biomass burning, brick kilns and vehicular emission at the site.[18] The Fig. 3 shows the variation in the pattern of NO3- and NH4+ with time in the region.
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