Dominant factors of major and minor components and formation of hydroxyalkanesulfonate in urban dew-water

Dew-water was collected from January 1999 to February 2000 in Yokohama, Japan and analyzed for not only soluble major components but also insoluble or trace components. The pH of dew-water ranged from 5.36 to 6.71 and volume-weighted average pH was 5.81. In dew-water, Si, Al, Fe, Cl, and Na were abundant and they were confirmed to be transported from natural sources, sea and soil dust. The concentrations of Si, Al, Fe, and Ti contained in coarse mode aerosol were several times higher in dew-water than those in rain-water, while the concentrations of V and Pb contained in fine mode aerosol were about the same level to each other. Besides these elements derived from aerosol, the elements derived from gaseous species are also major components in dew-water. The high concentration of weak acid is one of the significant characteristics of dew-water. Bisulfite ion in dew-water is the important species as the precursor of the sulfate ion but it is stable by forming hydroxyalkanesulfonate (HASA). The HASA concentrations were evaluated by using concentrations of total S(IV) and aldehydes and hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMSA) was shown to be the dominant species in S(IV).