A working group on acid rain set up by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment (MOE) reported on October 7, 2004 that typhoons carry sulfate ions, a cause of acid rain, and other air pollutants over wide areas at high speed while they are approaching land. The report was presented at a, 3-day meeting of the Meteorological Society of Japan in Fukuoka Prefecture (Oct. 6-8, 2004).

The group analyzed the chemical composition of precipitation from Typhoon 0106 (Kong-Rey) in 2001 and Typhoon 0207 (Halong) in 2002. The group chose these cases from among precipitation data collected since 1983 by the MOE and its predecessor, the former Environment Agency.

In both of these cases, sulfate ions produced from air pollutants, as well as calcium ions originating from road dust and yellow dust from China, reached maximum levels of concentration and deposition a few days after these typhoons most closely approached the observation point. Sulfate ions and calcium ions brought in by Typhoon 0106 accounted for 13 percent and 16 percent of their annual deposition, excluding depositions from sea water.

Yukiya Minami, a lecturer at Ishikawa Agricultural College in Ishikawa Prefecture and a member of the working group, spoke of plans to undertake equivalent analyses of other typhoons, and also to survey their influence on various ecosystems.



Posted: 2005/03/25 11:40:08 AM
Japanese version

TAG Chemicals , Ecosystem , Government , University/Research institute