Aluminum pollution caused by acid rain killing fish in Adirondack lakes

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978 · BioScience; (United States)

OSTI ID:5229748

Acid pollutants - primarily nitric and sulfur oxides - are spewed into the air from industrial centers around the Great Lakes, wafting eastward until they are washed from the sky by rain or snow over the Adirondacks. The acids build up in the snowpack through the winter and are suddenly unleashed in the runoff from the spring thaw, pouring into streams and lakes in concentrations lethal to fish. Then, a chemical reaction between nitric acid and the soil sets a second wave of destruction in motion, releasing large amounts of aluminum into the waters. The Adirondacks thin topsoil and small watersheds prevent the region from absorbing or buffering the acids. More than half the lakes above 60 meters have become highly acidic, and 90% of these are devoid of fish.

• OSTI ID: 5229748
• Journal Information: BioScience; (United States), Journal Name: BioScience; (United States) Vol. 28:7; ISSN BISNA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520200* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560305 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Vertebrates-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS
AIR POLLUTION
ALUMINIUM
ANIMALS
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FEDERAL REGION II
FISHES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LAKES
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
MORTALITY
MOUNTAINS
NEW YORK
NITRIC ACID
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
RAIN
RUNOFF
SOILS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
SURFACE WATERS
TOXICITY
USA
VERTEBRATES
WATER POLLUTION