To investigate the characteristics and sources of dissolved heavy metals in precipitation of Taiyuan, 61 precipitation samples were collected using an automated dry and wet sampler from 2013 to 2015 during summertime. The concentrations of 12 dissolved heavy metals were detected using ICP-MS, and wet deposition fluxes and sources were analyzed. The results showed that the pH ranged from 4.34 to 7.95, with a volume-weighted mean of 5.37. The mean concentration of the dissolved heavy metals was 236.931 μg·L-1, with a range of 66.324 to 1029.212 μg·L-1. Zn and Fe were the major components, together accounting for 53.39% of the total concentrations. The wet deposition fluxes of the 12 dissolved heavy metals reached 1.735 mg·(m2·d)-1. The enrichment factors of Ba, Cu, Sr, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb were all in excess of 100, suggesting that these metals were seriously influenced by anthropogenic activities. Results from positive matrix factorization (PMF) indicated that steel smelting emissions, coal combustion, vehicle emissions, and crustal dusts were the major sources of heavy metals in the precipitation of Taiyuan City, with average contributions of 38.34%, 23.06%, 20.45%, and 18.15%, respectively. According to backward trajectory analysis, air masses from the southwest and southeast directions contributed the most to precipitation during summer in Taiyuan, with percentages of 38 and 35, respectively. The southern industrial areas located in the Yuncheng-Linfen-Jinzhong and Jincheng-Changzhi-Jinzhong regions should be paid more attention.
Keywords: Taiyuan; backward trajectory; heavy metals; positive matrix factorization (PMF); precipitation.