Results of 1986 snow acidity sampling in California

During 1986, snow surveyors in the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Programs field tested the snowpack for acidity while doing their regular snowpack depth and water content measurements. The purpose of the special sampling was to provide broad coverage of the snow zone in California to see if there appeared to be a widespread problem of snow acidity or if specific 'hot spots' or zones of acidity existed. The field tests of surface snow acidity were made with small litmus paper test kits. About 520 snow course determinations of pH were made from about January 1 through April 1. Field pH values clustered around 5.3, not significantly different from the 5.6 theoretically expected from clean precipitation. Results did not indicate any widespread acidity problem in the California snowpack, at least not in 1986.