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Major Ions and Nutrients Loading by Atmospheric Wet Deposition in Mbeya Urban, Tanzania
MUST JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,
Vol. 2 No. 3 (2023): Major Ions and Nutrients Loading by Atmospheric Wet Deposition in Mbeya Urban, Tanzania
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the influence of the atmospheric wet depositions on the major ions and nutrient loading in the surface water of Mbeya Urban, Tanzania. The rain collector buckets were installed 2 meters above the grounds and used to collect 22 rainwater samples between December (18.12.2021) and February (02.02.2022) from six different sampling stations (MUST, Mbalizi, Kabwe, Rufaa, Uyole, and Kalobe). The major ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-, Cl-, CO32-, and SO42-), nutrients (NH4+, PO43-, and NO3-), pH, and temperature in each rainwater sample were examined. It was observed that rainwater's pH ranged from 6.8 to 9.3, indicating that in the region, alkaline dust is being released into the atmosphere, while the temperature varied from 17°C to 22°C, with a mean of 19.81°C. The cationic and anionic compositions were found to predominate in the following order: Mg2+ > Ca2+ > Na+ > K+ and HCO3- > Cl > SO42- respectively. Similarly, the nutrients were discovered to predominate in the following order: SO42- > PO43- > NO3- > NH4+ > SO42-. Some parameters revealed decreasing trends from one rain event to the next, while others revealed trend inconsistency between rain events. The point source pollution at the specific sampling stations and the non-uniformity of the rain event in the area were linked to the non-uniformity of the trend of the parameters. The findings demonstrate that atmospheric wet depositions contribute significantly to ion and nutrient loading on the surface, despite the general non-uniformity of the parameter trend. To have a comprehensive and accurate status of the Mbeya urban region’s pollution state, wet and dry air depositions must be evaluated for major ions and nutrient loading to the surface.
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