TRACE INORGANIC ELEMENTS IN RAINFALL IN THE MONTREAL ISLAND

Using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), 24 inorga nic elements were analysed for about 65 station-events during the summ er of 1989, at Montreal Island (Canada). Enrichment factors indicate t hat numerous elements are enriched as compared to the Earth's crust, s ince only six elements (titanium, iron, rubidium, yttrium, zirconium, and cerium) can be considered natural. A comparison with results from a rural area indicates that most elements are affected by urbanization . For the majority of the elements, scavenging below the cloud (wash-o ut) seems to be a significant atmosphere cleansing mechanism, although one element, lead, appears to be rather governed by long-range transp ortation and rain-out (in-cloud scavenging). Correlation between eleme nts indicates that some elements have similar behaviour, which can be partly explained by sorption phenomena or chemical bonding in the same compound.