Abstract
A variety of techniques to identify and quantify acid and base components in rainwater are applied to data for southern California. Charge balance calculations using major cation and anion concentration data indicate southern California probably had alkaline rain in the 1950Ts and the 1960’s with the exception of the Los Angeles area which probably had acidic precipitation. Measurements of the chemical composition of precipitation collected in Pasadena, California, from February 1976 to September 1977 are compared with the charge balance and conductivity balance constraints. A chemical balance is used to determine the relative importances of different sources. The pH is found to be controlled by the interaction of bases and strong acids with nitric acid being 32% more important on an equivalent basis than sulfuric acid. The uncertainties in the various calculations are discussed.
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