Isotopic composition of sulphur in atmospheric precipitation around Sudbury, Ontario

Abstract

THE isotopic composition of ombrogenic sulphur has been used, with varying degrees of success, to fingerprint sources of sulphur in the atmosphere1–4. The major unresolved problem in applying this potentially powerful technique to environmental studies has been the fractionation of sulphur isotopes by the various SOx washout phenomena. We report here the concentrations and isotopic compositions of sulphur in bulk precipitation samples collected during 1975 and 1976 at stations around the nickel smelting complex at Copper Hill near Sudbury, Ontario. By combining the data with isotopic measurements on sulphur oxides (SOx) in the smelter stack and plumes, the isotopic effects and the principal mechanisms of sulphur deposition close to the smelter have been evaluated.