Hydrology of Goat Lake watershed, Snohomish County, Washington, 1982-87

Book · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5083848

Dion, N P; Ebbert, J C; Poole, J E; Peck, B S

The Goat Lake watershed functions as an experimental watershed for long-term studies to determine the effects of acidic precipitation on water resources. Data have been collected there by the US Geological Survey since 1982. The watershed is in a wilderness area of the Cascade Range and is downwind of an industrial and urban area that produces chemical compounds found in acidic precipitation. The lake is considered sensitive to acidic inputs from atmospheric deposition and streamflow. The mean annual discharge of the Goat Lake outflow is 35 cu ft/sec; precipitation on the watershed is calculated to be about 170 in/yr. The inflow to Goat Lake is sufficient to replace the entire contents of the lake basin on an average every 21.5 days, or 17 times/year. Water in Goat Lake, and that of the inlet and outlet, is of low ionic strength and of calcium-bicarbonate type. The lake, although considered oligotrophic, is sufficiently deep to stratify thermally, and summer dissolved-oxygen concentrations in the hypolimnion are depressed. Even though alkalinity and specific conductance at Goat Lake are in the range considered sensitive to acidic inputs, the pH of water in the lake has consistently ranged from 6.1 to 7.2, indicating that the lake is not acidified at this time. 36 refs., 11 figs., 8 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 5083848
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FEDERAL REGION X
GEOLOGIC SURVEYS
LAKES
NORTH AMERICA
PH VALUE
POLLUTION
RAIN
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
USA
VARIATIONS
WASHINGTON
WATER POLLUTION
WATERSHEDS