A four-year investigation on wet deposition in western Thailand

The investigation of pH variation and the chemical composition of rainwater have heen studied from April 2003 to October 2006 at a rural area of Nakorn Pathom Province,western Thailand.The pH value ranged from 4.0 to 7.8 with an average of 6.1.Out of 319 rain events,72 events were observed in acidic range(pH＜5.6).The pH of rainwater gradually increased over the sampling period.The volume-weighted mean concentrations (μeq/L)of ion species followed the order:Ca2 ＞NH4 ＞SO42-＞HCO3-＞NO3-＞Na ＞C1-＞CH3COO-＞Mg2 ＞K ＞H ＞HCOO-＞PO43-.Neutralization factor calculations reveal that Ca2 plays a major role in neutralization processes in this area.Enrichment factor calculations indicate that SO42-,K ,Ca2 and Mg2 were originated from non-marine sources.The statistical measure principie component analysis indicates influence of various local emission sources e.g.,soil,limestone mines,biomass burning and agricultural emissions,on the chemical composition of rainwater.