Chemical Composition of Fog Water at Four Sites in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This study characterizes and compares the chemical composition of fog water at four sites in Taiwan. Fog was sampled with identical active fog collectors (modified Caltech design) using identical sampling strategies at all four sites. While the sites varied largely in terms of altitude above mean sea level (asl), type of fog, and the potential sources of constituents in fog water, the chemical composition of fog water was in all cases clearly dominated by H⁺, NH₄⁺, NO₃^– and SO₄^2–, making up more than 85% of the total ion concentrations. The pH ranged from 2.27 to 5.95.    Sulfur dioxide emissions from coal combustion in Mainland China and Taiwan as well as nitrogen oxide emissions from urbanized central-west Taiwan and the greater Taipei region were the main precursors of fog acidity. Ammonia, originating from agriculture emissions, was the main neutralizer. The Kinmen site (48 m asl), situated on an island close to Mainland China, exhibited the lowest pH and the highest sulfate concentrations. At the Xitou site on the western slopes of the Taiwan Central Mountain Range (1150 m asl), ammonium from agriculture dominated and lead to relatively high pH. At the same time, the nitrate/sulfate ratio was highest at this site (> 1 in equivalent units), resulting from relatively large contributions from street traffic. The ion concentrations at the Chilan site (1650 m asl) and the Lulin high mountain site (2862 m asl) were much lower than those at Xitou and Kinmen. While the ion concentrations at Chilan were considerably lower than at Lulin, the ion loadings, which is the amount of dissolved ions per volume of air, were similar at Chilan and Lulin.