Relationships between different forms of inorganic nitrogen in rainwater of a coastal area and ground-level gaseous nitrogen oxides

Abstract

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen was measured in rainwater falling at three sampling sites on the French Atlantic coast over a one-year period. Whiee nitrite was generally at very low levels, ammonium and nitrate could reach values between 100 and 400 /gmM on several occasions. A positive, linear, and highly significant relationship was observed between nitrate and ammonium concentrations during the study period (1984–1986). No correlation could be found between these compounds and simultaneously measured gaseous nitrogen oxides at ground level. However, a significant relationship was found between rainwater nitrite and gaseous nitrogen dioxide, indicating that such a compound can be a periodically important source of nitrate in precipitation.