Precipitation scavenging of gaseous pollutants having arbitrary solubility in inhomogeneous atmosphere

Abstract

We investigate scavenging of gaseous pollutants in the atmosphere under the combined influence of rain and varying temperature distribution that affects the rate of soluble gas scavenging. We employ a one-dimensional model of precipitation scavenging of gaseous pollutants having arbitrary solubility that is valid for small gradients and for non-uniform initial vertical distributions of temperature and soluble trace gases concentration in the atmosphere. It is showed that transient altitudinal distributions of temperature and concentration under the influence of rain are determined by linear wave equations that describe propagation of temperature and scavenging wave fronts. Scavenging coefficient and the rates of precipitation scavenging are calculated for wet removal of methanol (\({\text{CH}}_{3} {\text{OH}}\)) using measured initial distribution of methanol and temperature in the atmosphere. Theoretical predictions of the dependence of the magnitude of the scavenging coefficient on rain intensity for tritium oxide and sulfur dioxide are in good agreement with the available atmospheric measurements.