Formic, acetic, oxalic, malonic and succinic acid concentrations and their contribution to organic carbon in cloud water

The carbon content of cloud water at a continental background site in Austria was studied during two intensive field campaigns in spring 1999 and 2000. Six carboxylic acids, total (TC) and black (BC) carbon as well as major inorganic ions were determined. Organic carbon (OC) was calculated as the difference between TC and BC. The most abundant carboxylic acids were acetic (average: 0.93 μg ml−1) and formic (0.61) followed by oxalic (0.38), succinic (0.15) and malonic (0.20) acids. Pyruvic acid was below the detection limit (<0.08) in all samples. The BC concentration was 1.15 and OC 4.81 μg ml−1 on average. Relating carboxylic acid concentrations to OC, the monocarboxylic acids alone represent 9.3% of OC. Adding the dicarboxylic acids, this average value increases to 11%. Although they are major components, no general trend could be seen between carboxylic acid and OC concentrations.