ISSN:
1573-2932
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
Notes:
Abstract Pollutant transport studies and investigations of geochemical cycling often involve calculation of excess (non-seasalt) concentrations for various ions found in precipitation. Excess concentrations are calculated from measurements of the concentrations of a reference species and the species of interest. Formulas for determining the accuracy of calculated excess concentrations are necessary because this accuracy can vary significantly from sample to sample within the same data set, as well as from one study to another. The formulas derived in this paper demonstrate that the standard error of calculated excess concentrations is dependent on the nature and magnitude of the analytical errors made in measuring total concentrations. Application to a real data set indicates that this standard error is often greater than the calculated excess concentration, and that the standard error may vary by orders of magnitude for various samples in the same data set. The magnitude of the potential errors has important implications for the reliability of conclusions based on calculated excess concentrations, while the sample-to-sample variation of these errors complicates the process of determining the accuracy of summary statistics such as the volume-weighted mean concentration. In addition, these variations in accuracy can obscure the relationships between excess concentrations and other variables, both chemical and meteorological. This complicates investigations of source-receptor relationships and geochemical cycling, and may lead to faulty conclusions.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00282393
