Rapid increases in electric power generation by combustion of high sulfur coal associated with industrialization have made China the world''s largest emitter of sulfur dioxide (SO2). As a consequence, precipitation in China is becoming increasingly acidic, and sulfate deposition fluxes are reaching levels previously only experienced many decades ago in pre-regulated European and U.S. settings. The prospect of significant downwind acid rain and sulfate deposition is also a concern to neighboring countries such as South Korea and Japan as well as the Northern Pacific and Southwestern United States. Colorado State University (CSU) scientists, who have a longstanding research interest in the role that clouds and cloud droplets play in transforming gas-phase SO2 into sulfuric acid droplets, are to team with Chinese academic and research institutions in a large, multi-year acid rain study. Taking advantage of an existing research station at Mt. Tai (eastern China) which often intercepts clouds, field campaigns designed to shed light on the controlling mechanisms of the oxidation of SO2 in these cloud chemical systems will be carried out. The project provides an important international training opportunity for CSU students and may enhance U.S.-China scientific collaborations.
