Citation. Eisenreich, S. J.; Franz, T. P.; Swanson, M. B. 1987. Field intercomparison of precipitation samplers for assessing wet deposition of organic contaminants. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes National Program Office, Grant No. R005840-01, 118 pp.   [1041  LTER]

Summary. The atmosphere is recognized as an important contributor of organic contaminants to oceanic and lacustrine environments. In the case of the Laurentian Great Lakes, it has been estimated that atmospheric deposition represents an important if not dominant fraction of total inputs of many chemicals from all sources. Atmospheric deposition results from wet and dry inputs. The objectives of this project were to perform a field intercomparison of four wet-only precipitation samplers in an assessment of their ability to efficiently collect rain and selected organic contaminants. The samplers are evaluated and compared on the basis of their ability to efficiently collect rainfall, exhibit mechanical reliability, demonstrate adequate operational characteristics and provide precise measures of wet-only inputs. The samplers differed in collection surface area (0.08 to 0.21 m2), type of collection surface (stainless steel; Teflon coated), mode of organic compound isolation (resin adsorbent; batch extraction) and operational characteristics. We found that the most significant difference between the four samplers was their mechanical reliability in the field. The samplers performed equally well in assessing organic concentrations in rain.

Keywords. wet deposition, organic contaminants