Adirondack Lake System Acidity: Differences Between Headwater and Nonheadwater Lakes

摘要

Surface water acidification may be caused or influenced by natural watershed processes and by anthropogenic activities. One portion of the US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program focused on lake acidity as related to natural and anthropogenic watershed attributes in the Adirondack region of New York. The objectives were to (1) build a series of data sets for complex watershed systems that would complement those developed for headwater lakes and (2) analyze empirical relationships between lake pH and watershed attributes for complex watershed systems, to determine if different processes operate in headwater and nonheadwater watersheds. Sixty-six watershed systems (258 lakes) were studied, using chemistry data available for one-half of these lakes. Results show that headwater lakes had a slightly lower average pH (0.26 units) than nonheadwater lakes. Physical and chemical soil attributes were related to differences in lake acidity between headwater and nonheadwater lakes. (ERA citation 12:025851)