Appraisal of some current hypotheses describing acidification of watersheds

Journal Article · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/00022470.1985.10465892· OSTI ID:5830000

Krug, E C; Isaacson, P J; Frink, C R

There is an increasing awareness of the complexity of biogeochemistry and the resultant difficulties associated with modeling water chemistry and watershed acidification. The simple comparison of change in acidity over time is insufficient to prove an acid rain effect. The Henriksen model uses modern water chemistry data to estimate acidification by acid rain: base cations are the surrogate for preacidification alkalinity and nonmarine SO/sub 4/ is the surrogate for anthropic acid input. Both assumptions tend to overestimate the effect of acid rain; the errors can be particularly large for sensitive: water. Ion exchange and SO/sub 4/ leaching models use inorganic chemistry to describe landscapes that give acid runoff. But these landscapes usually contain organic-rich acid soils and peats, hence these models overestimate the effect of acid rain by assuming that all export is ionic. Sensitive watersheds tend to have humic colored waters, and the assumption that waters consist of only inorganic solutions overestimates acidification. A hypothesis of the determining role of organic buffering and solubility in such cases is described and illustrated with preliminary data.

• Research Organization: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven
• OSTI ID: 5830000
• Journal Information: J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States) Vol. 35:2; ISSN JPCAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

520200* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHEMISTRY
DISSOLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ION EXCHANGE
LEACHING
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
RAIN
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOILS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER POLLUTION
WATERSHEDS