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Sources of acidity in Maryland coastal plain streams. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6728872

The study examined potential sources of acidity in Maryland Coastal Plain streams sampled during the Maryland Synoptic Stream Chemistry Survey. An analytical framework was developed to partition the potential anthropogenic contributions to stream acidity, and to examine the influence of land use, geology, and soils on stream chemistry. A model which used acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and conductivity to classify 181 Coastal Plain streams was employed. The streams were classified into four groups: Group 1: low ANC, low conductivity; Group 2: high ANC, low conductivity; Group 3: high ANC, high conductivity; Group 4: low ANC, high conductivity. A discriminant analysis was used to test whether watershed characteristics alone could verify the a priori classification based on ANC and conductivity. The results from the analysis indicate that geology, soils, and land use data can be used to predict ANC and conductivity with a relatively high degree of certainty.

Research Organization:
Coastal Environmental Services, Inc., Linthicum, MD (USA)
OSTI ID:
6728872
Report Number(s):
PB-90-229261/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English