Characterization of rainwater quality from the Venice region network using multiway data analysis

The paper describes the results of an exploratory analysis of the relations between variables characterizing the quality of atmospheric precipitation in the Veneto, an Italian region with an area of ∼ 18000 km2 and a population of just over 4.5 million. A network of eight sampling stations for monitoring rainfall was set up in 1988, in line with the EMEP statements. The data consisted of 1174 observations over the period February 1989–December 1991. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used in an attempt to describe the structure of relations between the solutes in wet deposition. Some extensions of PCA (interstructure-compromise-intrastructure method) were considered in order to evaluate differences between relation structures as defined by location, season and volume of precipitations.