'Dew' as a sink for sulphar dioxide

Calculations suggest that transfer of SO₂ into leaf wetness ('dew') is relatively rapid and it should remain in equilibrium with the atmosphere. The volume of leaf wetness appears to be insufficient to absorb more than 0.3% of the SO₂ emitted in the U.K. each year unless it is neutralized by alkaline materials such as ammonia. Analysis of leaf wetness in winter at a semirural site gave SO^2- ₄ as 1.06 ± 0.56 x 10^-4 mol 1^-1 which places the maximum deposition into 'dew' over the U.K. at 0.12 Mtonne yr^-1 (2.3% of emissions).