Patterns of atmospheric deposition to a mountain landscape in southeastern New York

Conference · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States)

OSTI ID:7164356

Weathers, K C; Lovett, G M; Likens, G E ^[1]

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1. Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY (United States)

We postulate that in the Catskill Mts., of southeastern NY, patterns of atmospheric deposition across the landscape are regulated primarily by four landscape features: (1) edges and gaps; (2) elevation; (3) slope aspect; and (4) vegetation type. We measured relative rates of deposition associated with these features using Pb in the forest floor as an indicator of total deposition. Deposition enhancement factors generated by these measurements were used in a geographic information system to model deposition to the landscape of Hunter Mt. Average deposition in the area above 1000m elevation was estimated to be 13% greater than to nearby low-elevation sites. Combinations of the landscape features can create [open quotes]hotspots[close quotes] of deposition, for instance, high-elevation coniferous forest edges, where deposition can be 300% greater than to a low-elevation forest. These results illustrate the importance of considering landscape-level variation when modeling atmospheric deposition or extrapolating deposition measurements.

• OSTI ID: 7164356
• Report Number(s): CONF-940894--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) Journal Volume: 75:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ALTITUDE
DEPOSITION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISTRIBUTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MOUNTAINS
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
USA