Major ions and scavenging of sulphate in the norwegian arctic

Precipitation samples at eight sites in the Norwegian Arctic and Northern Norway have been collected and analyzed for the period June 1982–June 1984. The results are compared with data for airborne SO²⁻₄ and SO₂ measured at ground level, and information on concentrations at higher levels from aircraft measurements and model calculations.The scavenging coefficients are generally low under Arctic winter conditions, and high during summer. This can be explained by the different vertical distributions of scavenged material in summer and winter, and differences in precipitation-forming processes. In addition, local climatic conditions with high relative humidity and high concentrations of sea-spray particles result in locally enhanced scavenging efficiencies at the island stations Bjørnøya and Jan Mayen. High NH⁺₄ concentrations in precipitation occur near bird colonies during the breeding period.The wet deposition in the Arctic is small, i.e. an order of magnitude lower than in Southern Norway.