Abstract
The two rain events that occurred in eastern North Carolina between 25 and 27 January 1986, illustrated the two major influences (continental versus maritime) on winter rainwater composition received in this coastal region during the three winter quarters 1986–1989. Maritime rainwater from coastal storms like that of 25–26 January 1996, was similar to rain received in areas of the world remote from industrial activities. Rainwater from continental low pressure systems or cold fronts, like the cold front that brought rain on 26–27 January 1986, was much more acidic. These two influences caused great variation in rainwater composition over short periods of time. In maritime rainwater, the conductivity resulted primarily from seasalt; in continental rain, most of the conductivity came from sulfuric and nitric acids. Sequential sampling of these two types of storms indicated that the initial rain was the most acidic relative to subsequent rain in the same storm. Precipitation rate did not correlate with the concentration of any of the major ionic components in sequential samples from either type of storm.
