Pollution Characteristics of Rainwater at Jeju Island during 2009~2010

The collection of rainwater samples was made at Jeju area during 2009~2010, and the major ionic species were analyzed. In the comparison of ion balance, conductivity, and acid fraction for the validation of analytical data, the correlation coefficients showed a good linear relationship within the range of 0.966~0.990. The volume-weighted mean pH and electric conductivity were 4.9 and $17.8{\mu}S/cm$, respectively, at the Jeju area. The volume-weighted mean concentrations of ionic species in rainwater were in the order of $Cl^-$ > $Na^+$ > $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$ > $NH_4{^+}$ > $NO_3{^-}$ > $Mg^{2+}$ > $H^+$ > $nss-Ca^{2+}$ > $HCOO^-$ > $K^+$ > $PO_4{^{3-}}$ > $CH_3COO^-$ > $NO_2{^-}$ > $F^-$ > $HCO_3{^-}$ > $CH_3SO_3{^-}$. The ionic strength of rainwater was $0.26{\pm}0.21$ mM during the study period. The composition ratios of ionic species were such as 50.1% for the marine sources ($Na^+$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Cl^-$), 30.9% for the anthropogenic sources ($NH_4{^+}$, $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NO_3{^-}$), and 4.7% for the soil source ($nss-Ca^{2+}$), and 3.1% for organic acids ($HCOO^-$, $CH_3COO^-$). From the seasonal comparison, the concentrations of $NO_3{^-}$, $nss-Ca^{2+}$, and $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$ increased in winter and spring seasons, indicating a reasonable possibility of long range transport from Asia continent. Especially, the acidifying contributions by major inorganic acids ($nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$ and $NO_3{^-}$) and organic acids ($HCOO^-$ and $CH_3COO^-$) were 87.6% and 12.4%, respectively. In comparison by sectional inflow pathway of air mass during the rainy sampling days, the concentrations of $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$ and $NO_3{^-}$ were relatively high when the air mass was moved from the China continent into Jeju area.