Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 21, No. 2, p. 157–165, April 2010 ISSN 1674-487X Printed in China DOI: 10.1007/s12583-010-0014-3 Characteristics and Environmental Significance of pH and EC in Summer Rainfall and Shallow Firn Profile at Yulong Snow Mountain, Lijiang City, China Li Zongxing* (李宗省) State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China He Yuanqing (何元庆) State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Institute of Environment and Climate Change Research in Western China, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China Wilfred H Theakstone School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK Jia Wenxiong (贾文雄), Xin Huijuan (辛惠娟), Zhang Wei (张蔚), Liu Jing (刘婧), Wang Shuxin (王淑新) Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China ABSTRACT: The seasonal and inter-annual variations of pH and EC (electrical conductivity) at Yu- long (玉龙) Snow Mountain, Lijiang (丽江) City, are sensitive to precipitation variations and are im- portant indicators of the atmospheric environment. The pH of summer rainfall at Lijiang City ranges from 6.7 to 7.4, and alkaline mineral salts dominate the variations of rainfall acidity. pH values in the This study was supported by the National Basic Research Pro- gram of China (No. 2007CB411501), the National Natural Sci- ence Foundation of China (Nos. 40971019, J0630966, 90511007), the Special Grant for Postgraduate Research, Inno- vation and Practice, the West Light Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. O828A11001), and the Fund from State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences. *Corresponding author: yxmlzx1982822@163.com © China University of Geosciences and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 Manuscript received October 30, 2009. Manuscript accepted January 8, 2010. shallow firn profile at Baishui (白水) Glacier No. 1 range from 5.6 to 6.3, and EC values from 2.4 to 7.3 μs/cm. The ranges are lower than those in other firn cores from China because of stronger elution and the influence of marine aerosols. This indicates that environmental records from a monsoonal temperate glacier differ from those at continental glaciers. KEY WORDS: pH, EC, Baishui Glacier No. 1, Yulong Snow Mountain, Lijiang City. INTRODUCTION The pH and EC of snow and glaciers are crucial parts of environmental records, and studies on them