Major ionic composition of precipitation in the Nam Co region, Central Tibetan Plateau

A total of 48 precipitation samples have been collected from individual precipitation events at the Nam Co Monitoring and Research Station for Multisphere Interactions (Nam Co Station, 30°47′N, 90°58′E; 4730 m a.s.l) located in the central Tibetan Plateau from August 2005 to August 2006. All samples were analyzed for major cations (NH4+, Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) and anions (Cl−, NO3− and SO42−), conductivity and pH. Precipitation pH values ranged from 6.03 to 7.38 with an average value of 6.59. The high pH is due to large inputs of crustal aerosols in the atmosphere, which contain a large fraction of carbonate. Ca2+ is the dominant cation in precipitation with an average value of 65.58 μeq L− 1 (4.91–301.41 μeq L− 1), accounting for 54% of the total cations in precipitation. HCO3− is the predominant anion, accounting for 62% of the total anions. When compared with data from a snow pit in the Zhadang Glacier 50 km away (5800 m a.s.l), major ion concentration in precipitation at the Nam Co Station is much higher due to local aerosol inputs. Correlation and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis indicate that regional crustal aerosols and species from combustion emissions of residents are the major sources for these ions, lake salt aerosols from the Nam Co nearby and regional mineral aerosols from dry lake sediments are secondary sources, and sea salt contribution is the least due to the long distance transport.