Study of aerosol transport through precipitation chemistry over Arabian Sea during winter and summer monsoons

Abstract

Precipitation samples over the Arabian Sea collected during Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX) in 2002–2003 were examined for major water soluble components and acidity of aerosols during the period of winter and summer monsoon seasons. The pH of rain water was alkaline during summer monsoon and acidic during winter monsoon. Summer monsoon precipitation showed dominance of sea-salt components (∼90%) and significant amounts of non-sea salt (nss) Ca 2+ and SO 4 2−. Winter monsoon precipitation samples showed higher concentration of NO 3 − and NH 4 + compared to that of summer monsoon, indicating more influence of anthropogenic sources. The rain water data is interpreted in terms of long-range transport and background pollution. In summer monsoon, air masses passing over the north African and Gulf continents which may be carrying nss components are advected towards the observational location. Also, prevailing strong southwesterly winds at surface level produced sea-salt aerosols which led to high sea-salt contribution in precipitation. While in winter monsoon, it was observed that, air masses coming from Asian region towards observational location carry more pollutants like NO 3 −and nss SO 4 2− that acidify the precipitation.