THE ACCESSION OF CHLORIDE TO THE WESTERN HALF OF THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT

Chloride concentrations in bulk precipitation, collected from 18 sites in remote areas of Australia over 2 years, exhibit a dependence on di stance from the coast that is well described by the sum of 2 exponenti als. Various processes are discussed in terms of their contribution to the 'fast' and 'slow' components of this relationship. A map of chlor ide accession to the western and central areas of the Australian conti nent is constructed. Maximum deposition occurs at coastal localities ( 60-70 kg/ha), decreasing to <1 kg/ha in the interior of the continent. Chloride deposition shows a decrease from south (70 kg/ha) to north ( <5 kg/ha) of the continent, reflecting the greater importance of the s ubpolar marine airmasses in the supply of ionic species to the Austral ian continent, and the influence of the continental airmass, low in ch loride, on salt deposition in northern Australia.