Assessing the regional effects of sulfur deposition on surface-water chemistry: the southern Blue Ridge (journal version)

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6293357

Eshleman, K N; Kaufmann, P R

A method was developed for quantifying the regional chronic acidification of surface waters which uses synoptic survey data and a conceptual titration model of acidification. The principal assumptions of the model are that stream waters have been titrated by an amount of sulfuric acid equivalent to their current SO/sub 4//sup -2/ concentration and historical pH and acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) can be calculated from current chemical data. The model allows for increases in SO/sub 4//sup -2/ concentration to be compensated by increased production of base cations through use of a regional coefficient. Making worst case assumptions, the median historical decline in ANC and pH in streams in the Southern Blue Ridge was estimated to be 23 micro equiv/L and 0.09 unit, respectively. An inverse correlation between the SO/sub 4/ to base cation ratio and ANC is shown to be consistent with the use of the titration model.

• Research Organization: Northrop Services, Inc., Corvallis, OR (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6293357
• Report Number(s): PB-89-145064/XAB
• 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
ACID NEUTRALIZING CAPACITY
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
AIR POLLUTION
AIR-WATER INTERACTIONS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMISTRY
FIELD TESTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LAKES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NAPAP
POLLUTION
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RAIN
STREAMS
SULFURIC ACID
SURFACE WATERS
TESTING
VOLUMETRIC ANALYSIS
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER POLLUTION