Precipitation chemistry and corresponding transport patterns of influencing air masses at Huangshan Mountain in East China

One hundred and ten samples of rainwater were collected for chemical analysis at the summit of Huangshan Mountain, a high-altitude site in East China, from July 2010 to June 2011. The volume-weighted-mean(VWM) pH for the whole sampling period was 5.03. SO2-4and Ca2+were the most abundant anion and cation, respectively. The ionic concentrations varied monthly with the highest concentrations in winter/spring and the lowest in summer. Evident inter-correlations were found among most ions, indicating the common sources for some species and fully mixing characteristics of the alpine precipitation chemistry. The VWM ratio of [SO2-4]/[NO-3] was 2.54, suggesting the acidity of rainwater comes from both nitric and sulfuric acids. Compared with contemporary observations at other alpine continental sites in China, the precipitation at Huangshan Mountain was the least polluted, with the lowest ionic concentrations. Trajectories to Huangshan Mountain on rainy days could be classified into six groups. The rainwater with influencing air masses originating in Mongolia was the most polluted with limited effect. The emissions of Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces had a strong influence on the overall rain chemistry at Huangshan Mountain. The rainwater with influencing air masses from Inner Mongolia was heavily polluted by anthropogenic pollutants.