SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS OF SNOW WATER - EXPERIMENTAL PROBLEMS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

Sampling and analyses of snow water at a mountainous site of northwest ern Turkey were described. A snow sampler designed in our laboratory w as used in the sampling. Ion chromatography, flame atomic absorption a nd emission spectrophotometry were very good techniques for the determ inations of major ions in snow samples. The accuracy of results was te sted by using different standard reference materials for both techniqu es. The results were in good agreement with the certified concentratio ns. The results of analyses were accepted if the error was less than 1 5%. The overall precision was in between 1-6%. The concentrations of s now samples were high compared with the literature values. The pH of t hem was found to be acidic with the average value of 4.3. Magnesium ha d the highest average scavenging ratio, and ammonium ion had the lowes t average scavenging ratio. Sodium, K, Ca and Mg were mostly originate d from the earth crust. Marine contribution to the sampling site was a lso effective.