In rainwater

Dimethyl sulfoxide occurs widely at levels of <3 ppm. It has been isolated from spearmint oil, com, barley, malt, alfalfa, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, oats, onion, Swiss chard, tomatoes, raspberries, beer, coffee, milk, and tea (5). It is a common constituent of natural waters, and it occurs in seawater in the 2one of light penetration where it may represent a product of algal metaboHsm (6). Its occurrence in rainwater may result from oxidation of atmospheric dimethyl sulfide, which occurs as part of the natural transfer of sulfur of biological origin (7,8). 

In addition to the acid—base components shown in Figure 9, various organic acids are often found. Many of these acids are by-products of the atmospheric oxidation of organic matter released into the atmosphere. Of special interest are formic, acetic, oxaUc, and benzoic acids, which have been found in rainwater in concentrations occasionally exceeding a few micromoles per Hter. 

Areas affected by significant atmospheric concentrations of contaminants exhibiting the foregoing physical and chemical properties should also be considered as potentially affected by contaminant rainout and settling to surface media. Contaminants dissolved in rainwater may percolate to ground water, run off or fall directly into surface waters, and adsorb to... 

However, the fertilizing effect of nitrates (and sulfates) may be counterbalanced by the leaching of potassium, magnesium, calcium, and other nutrients from forest soils. There is little evidence that agricultural crops are being injured by exposures to nitrates in precipitation. The amount of nitrates in rainwater is almost always... 

The failure in employing PAAm hydrogel (free swelling 1250 ml g 1) in the sandy soil of the Kara Kum desert is due to the same reasons [132] swelling in rainwater and in saline water from the Large Kara Kum canal used for irrigation purposes was equal to 680 and 255 mlg-1 in the free state and respectively 112 and 76 ml g 1 in the sand. This situation proved to be unacceptable for any SAH application. 

The amount of hardness present in natural surface and groundwaters depends to a large extent on the action of dissolved carbon dioxide in rainwater on the watershed s geological formations (such as limestone, dolomite, gypsum, or magnesite). The dissolved hardness levels remain relatively low because of the sparingly soluble nature of the salts formed. Typically, MU water sources initially contain anywhere from 5... 

Sometimes we need to know how the concentrations of the ions present in a solution of a polyprotic acid vary with pH. This information is particularly important in the study of natural waters, such as rivers and lakes (Box 10.1). For example, if we were examining carbonic acid in rainwater, then, at low pH (when hydronium ions are abundant), we would expect the fully protonated species (H2C03) to be dominant at high pH (when hydroxide ions are abundant), we expect the fully deprotonated species (C032 ) to be dominant at intermediate pH, we expect the intermediate species (HC03, in this case) to be dominant (Fig. 10.20). We can verify these expectations quantitatively. 

Other radioisotopes known to be produced by cosmic rays include Be, H, Na, Be, and Of these Be, P, and P have activities that are high enough to be measured in rainwater. In several instances, notably 0 and Be, these radioactive elements are useful as tracers. 

Another major process at the Earth s surface not involving rapid exchange is the chemical weathering of rocks and dissolution of exposed minerals. In some instances the key weathering reactant is H30 in rainwater (often associated with the atmospheric sulfur cycle), while in other cases H30" comes from high concentrations of CO2, e.g., in vegetated soils. 

The most important pathway of sulfur through the atmosphere involves injection as a low-oxidation-state gas and removal as oxidation-state VI sulfate in rainwater (Fig. 13-2, paths 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,12, and 13.) Since this pathway involves a change in chemical oxidation state and physical phase, the lifetime of... 

Figure 6.2. 6 "0 in rainwater compared with that in human and pig hlood and hone phosphate. The 5 0 values in tissue track that in rainwater, indicating that both food and drinking water have S 0 values that are dependent on rainwater values (data from Longinelli 1984). 

An overview of the reactions involving trihalomethanes (haloforms) CHXYZ, where X, Y, and Z are halogen atoms, has been given in the context of ozone depletion (Hayman and Derwent 1997). Interest in the formation of trichloroacetaldehyde formed from trichloroethane and tetrachloroethene is heightened by the phytotoxicity of trichloroacetic acid (Frank et al. 1994), and by its occurrence in rainwater that seems to be a major source of this contaminant (Muller et al. 1996). The situation in Japan seems, however, to underscore the possible significance of other sources including chlorinated wastewater (Hashimoto et al. 1998). Whereas there is no doubt about the occurrence of trichloroacetic acid in rainwater (Stidson et al. 2004), its major source is unresolved since questions remain on the rate of hydrolysis of trichloroacetaldehyde (Jordan et al. 1999). 

Nitrophenols are phytotoxic, and dinoseb (6-iec-butyl-2,4-dinitrophenol) has been used as a herbicide, while nitrophenols have been detected in rainwater and plausible mechanisms for their abiotic formation have been proposed (Kohler and Heeb 2003 Vione et al. 2005). The pathway for the degradation of phenols with a single nitro group depends on the position of the substituents, while... 

Since many ion exchange columns exhibit mixed-mode interactions with analytes, factor analysis has been found to be useful in optimization.84 A 3-year, comprehensive review of inter-laboratory errors in determinations of the anions chloride, nitrate, and sulfate and the cations sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium suggested that multipoint calibration is essential and nonlinear calibration desirable.102 The need for nonlinear calibration was confirmed by an extended quality assurance study of chloride, sulfate, and nitrate in rainwater.103... 

FIGURE 44 Weathering. A weathered sandstone column. Calcite (composed of calcium carbonate) is dissolved by rain and groundwater (see Textbox 73). When stone in which calcite is a main component as, for example, sandstone, limestone, and marble, is in contact with water for long periods of time, it is weathered and partly or entirely dissolved. Pollutants such as sulfur dioxide are fundamental in accelerating the weathering and dissolution process. When sulfur dioxide, for example, dissolves in rainwater, it forms sulfuric acid, a strong acid that, at ambient temperatures, rapidly dissolves calcium carbonate. 

Technetium in rainwater was first studied by Attrep and coworkers [13,14], but the data on "Tc were not sufficient. 

Y. Wang, J. Huang, C. Zhang, J. Wei, and X. Zhou, Determination of hydrogen peroxide in rainwater by using a polyaniline film and platinum particles co-modified carbon fiber microelectrode. 

Atmospheric deposition is an important source of mercury for surface waters and terrestrial environments that can be categorized into two different types, wet and dry depositions. Wet deposition during rainfall is the primary mechanism by which mercury is transported from the atmosphere to surface waters and land. Whereas the predominant form of Hg in the atmosphere is Hg° (>95%), is oxidized in the upper atmosphere to water-soluble ionic mercury, which is returned to the earth s surface in rainwater. In addition to wet deposition of Hg in precipitation, there can also be dry deposition of Hg°, particulate (HgP), and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) to watersheds [9-11]. In fact, about 90% of the total Hg input to the aquatic environment is recycled to the atmosphere and less than 10% reaches the sediments [12]. By current consensus, it is generally accepted that sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)... 

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