The precipitation chemistry stations operating in the Atlantic Provinces during the period 1980–1982 were assessed by comparing their siting characteristics and sampling procedures with the criteria recommended by the Canadian Federal‐Provincial Research and Monitoring Coordinating Committee (RMCC). The data collected at these stations were also evaluated according to standards recommended by the Unified Deposition Data Base Committee.
Only one quarter of the 32 stations satisfied all of these criteria. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that some of the laboratories experienced problems analysing for nitrate or pH. Therefore, producing a coherent region‐wide data set for the major ions in precipitation was not feasible. However, the qualifying measurements were adequate to indicate an excess sulphate deposition of slightly less than 20 kg ha−1 a−1 to most of the region, with less than 10 kg ha−1 a−1 to Labrador.
Although this analysis was restricted to the monitoring in Atlantic Canada, the results are of broader relevance in illustrating the potential problems inherent in merging data from several networks.