Wet deposition in Germany: Long-term trends and the contribution of heavy metals

As part of the program of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), precipitation is sampled on a weekly basis from eight sites in different ecosystems throughout Germany. The samples are analyzed for Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, NO3-, and SO42- using ion chromatography with conductometrie detection. Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Tl are determined by ICP-MS. In addition, pH and conductivity of the samples are measured. In this paper, the weekly and annual deposition in 1994 is compared for the different sampling sites and with literature data. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.