Total Mineral Material, Acidity, Sulphur and Nitrogen in Rain and Snow at Kentville, Nova Scotia

Abstract

Analyses of total ash, sulphur, pH, ammonia and nitrate nitrogen have been made on 23 monthly precipitation samples and 17 individual snow samples collected between June 1952 and May 1954 at Kentville, Nova Scotia, in a predominantly agricultural area. Mean annual supply of total mineral ash was 95 kg/ha, of sulphur 9.1 kg/ha, of ammonia nitrogen 2.8 kg/ha, and of nitrate nitrogen 1.1 kg/ha. Average pH was 5.7, and rains more acid than this exhibited higher levels of both nitrate and sulphur, and a marked correlation between the latter and ammonia. Snow samples had much lower concentrations of ash, sulphur and nitrogen than rain samples collected in the same months, which may perhaps indicate a lower efficiency of snow flakes in removing materials from the atmosphere.