Trace Elements of Precipitation in the Shigatse Region, Southern Tibetan Plateau

In order to investigate trace elements of precipitation on Tibetan Plateau, a total of 34 precipitation samples have been collected from individual precipitation events at the Shigatse Meteorological Station located in the south Tibetan Plateau in 2008. All samples were analyzed for 12 elements (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Ag, Ba and Pb) by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The result showed that the average concentrations of V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Ag, Ba and Pb were 0.22 μg L-1, 0.17 μg L-1, 2.47 μg L-1, 16.52 μg L-1, 0.07 μg L-1, 1.04 μg L-1, 2.52 μg L-1, 0.29 μg L-1, 0.09 μg L-1, 0.04 μg L-1, 31.54 μg L-1 and 0.10μg L-1, respectively. The concentrations of elements were generally comparable to other background sites, and much lower than urban areas. The enrichment factors indicated that coal combustion along with vehicle and industry emissions may be the main sources of pollution elements.