How much acidification has occurred in Adirondack region lakes (New York, USA) since preindustrial times
Preindustrial and present-day lake water pH, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), total monomeric aluminum Al(sub m), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were inferred from the species composition of diatom and chrysophyte microfossils in the tops (present-day inferences) and bottoms (pre-1850 inferences) of sediment cores collected from a statistically selected set of Adirondack lakes. Results from the study lakes were extrapolated to a predefined target population of 675 low-alkalinity Adirondack region lakes. Estimates of preindustrial to present-day changes in lake water chemistry show that approximately 25-35% of the target population has acidified. The magnitude of acidification was greatest in the low-alkalinity lakes of the southwestern Adirondacks, an area with little geological ability to neutralize acidic deposition and receives the highest annual average rainfall in the region. The authors estimate that approximately 80% of the target population lakes with present-day measured pH = or < 5.2 and 30-45% of lakes with pH between 5.2 and 6.0 have undergone large declines in pH and ANC, and concomitant increases in Al(sub m). Estimated changes in (DOC) were small and show no consistent pattern in the acidified lakes. The study provides the first statistically based regional evaluation of the extent of lake acidification in the Adirondacks.
- Research Organization:
- Queen's Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada). Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab.
- OSTI ID:
- 5148863
- Report Number(s):
- PB-92-180371/XAB; CNN: EPA-68-C8-0006
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Acidification of Adirondack lakes
Paleoecological investigation of recent lake acidification in the Adirondack Mountains, NY
Related Subjects
010900 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ACID NEUTRALIZING CAPACITY
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS
ALGAE
ALUMINIUM
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHEMISTRY
CHROMOPHYCOTA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIATOMS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
LAKES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METALS
MOUNTAINS
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PH VALUE
PLANTS
POLLUTION
RAIN
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER POLLUTION
WATERSHEDS