Abstract
Discharge to concentration relationships for eight streams studied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Long-Term Monitoring Project (1983–89) indicate acidification of some streams by H2SO4 and HNO3 in atmospheric deposition and by organic acids in soils. Concentrations of major ions in precipitation were similar to those reported at other sites in the northeastern United States. Average concentrations of SO4 2− and NO3 − were similar among streams, but base cation concentrations differed widely, and these differences paralleled the differences in acid neutralizing capacity (ANC). Baseflow ANC is not a reliable predictor of stream acidity at high flow; some streams with high baseflow ANC (>150 Μeq L−1) declined to near zero ANC at high flow, and one stream with low baseflow ANC (<50 Μeq L−1) did not approach zero ANC as flow increased. Episodic decreases in ANC and pH during peak flows were associated with increased concentrations of NO3 − and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Aluminum concentrations exceeding 300 Μg L−1 were observed during peak flows in headwater streams of the Neversink River and Rondout Creek. Seasonal Kendall Tau tests for temporal trends indicate that SO4 2− concentrations in streamwater generally decreased and NO3 − concentrations increased during the period 1983–1989. Combined acid anion concentrations (SO4 2− + NO3 −) were generally unchanged throughout the period of record, indicating both that the status of these streams with respect to acidic deposition is unchanged, and that NO3 − is gradually replacing SO4 2− as the dominant acid anion in the Catskill streams.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alley, W.M.: 1988, Water Resour. Res. 24, 1955.
Arnold, D.E., Light, R.W. and Paul, E.A.: 1985, Vulnerability of Selected Lakes and Streams in the Middle Atlantic Region to Acidification — A Regional Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report FWS/OBS-80/40.19, 133 p.
Bricker, O.P. and Rice, K.C.: 1989, Environ. Sci. Technol. 23, 379.
Ceraso, J., Epstein, C.B., Clarke, S.L. and Oppenheimer, M.: 1986, New York City's Water Supply — Acid Deposition, Inorganic Pollution, and the Catskill Reservoirs, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, 138 p.
Cronan, C.S. and Aiken, G.R.: 1985, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 49, 1697.
Driscoll, C.T. and Newton, R.M.: 1985, Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 1018.
Driscoll, C.T., Likens, G.E., Hedin, L.O., Eaton, J.S. and Bormann, F.H.: 1989, Environ. Sci. Technol. 23, 137.
Ethridge, F.G.: 1977, J. Sediment. Petrol. 47, 63.
Fishman, M.J., and Friedman, L.C.: 1985, U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water Resource Investigations, Book 5, Chapter Al, p. 709.
Galloway, J.N., Norton, S.A. and Church, M.R.: 1983, Environ. Sci. Technol. 17, 541A.
Gran, G.: 1952, Int. Congr. Anal. Chem. 77, 661.
Haines, T.A. and Akielaszek, J.: 1983, A Regional Survey of the Chemistry of Headwater Lakes and Streams in New England —Vulnerability to Acidification, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Report FWS/OBS-80/40.15, p. 141.
Hemond, H.F. and Eshleman, K.N.: 1984, Water Resour. Res. 20, 1718.
Hirsch, R.M. and Slack, J.R.: 1984, Water Resour. Res. 20, 727.
Hirsch, R.M., Slack, J.R. and Smith, R.A.: 1982, Water Resour. Res. 18, 107.
Husar, R.B., Sullivan, T.J. and Charles, D.F.: 1991, in Acidic Deposition and Aquatic Ecosystems: Regional Case Studies, Charles, D.F., ed, Springer Verlag, New York, p. 65.
Johnson, N.M., Likens, G.E., Bormann, F.H., Fisher, D.W. and Pierce, R.S.: 1969, Water Resour. Res. 5, 1353.
Kaufmann, P.R., Herlihy, A.T., Elwood, J.W., Mitch, M.E., Overton, W.S., Sale, M.J., Messer, J.J., Cougan, K.A., Peck, D.V., Reckhow, K.H., Kinney, A.J., Christie, S.J., Brown, D.D., Hagley, C.A., Jager, H.I.: 1988, Chemical Characteristics of Streams in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. Volume I: Population Descriptions and Physico-Chemical Relationships, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA-600/3-88/021a, 397 p.
Krug, E.C. and Frink, C.R.: 1983, Science 221, 520.
Kudish, M.: 1985, Adirondack Magazine, April, 16.
Likens, G.E., Bormann, F.H., Pierce, R.S., Eaton, I.S. and Johnson, N.M.: 1977, Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem, Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 146.
Linthurst, R.A., Landers, D.H., Eilers, J.M., Brakke, D.F., Overton, W.S., Meier, E.P. and Crowe, R.E.: 1986, Characteristics of Lakes in the Eastern United States. Volume I: Population Descriptions and Physico-Chemical Relationships, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/600/4-86/007a, 136 p.
Loftis, J.C., Ward, R.C., Phillips, R.D. and Taylor, C.H.: 1989, An Evaluation of Trend Detection Techniques for Use in Water Quality Monitoring Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR, EPA/600/3-89/037, 139 p.
Lynch, D.D. and Dise, N.B.: 1985, Sensitivity of Stream Basins in Shenandoah National Park to Acid Deposition, U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 85-115, 61 p.
McDowell, W.H. and Likens, G.E.: 1988, Ecol. Monogr. 58, 177.
Molot, L.A., Dillon, P.J., LaZerte, B.D.: 1989, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46, 1658.
Munson, R.K. and Gherini, S.A.: 1991, in Acidic Deposition and Aquatic Ecosystems: Regional Case Studies, Charles, D.F., ed., Springer Verlag, New York, p. 9.
Murdoch, P.S. and Stoddard, J.L.: in press, Water Resour. Res.
Murdoch, P.S.: 1991, Chemical Budgets and Stream Chemistry Dynamics at Biscuit Brook in the Catskill Mountains, New York, 1984–85, U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 88-4035, 66 p.
Murdoch, P.S. and Barnes, C.R.: Stream Acidification in the Catskill Mountains of New York, 1983–86, U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report, in press.
Murdoch, P.S., Bonitz, C.E., Eakin, K.W., Ranalli, A.J., Caldwell, J.M. and Witt, E.C.: 1991, Episodic Acidification and Associated Fish and Aquatic Invertebrate Responses in Four Catskill Mountain Streams: An Interim Report of the Episodic Response Project, U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 90-566, 77 p.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1974–85, Climatological Data Annual Summary, National Climatic Center, Asheville, NC, 83–94.
National Research Council: 1983, Acid Deposition-Atmospheric Processes in Eastern North America, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., p. 378.
Newell, A.D. and Morrison, M.L.: Water Air Soil Pollut., this volume.
Oliver, B.G., Thurman, E.M. and Malcolm, R.L.: 1983, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 47, 2031.
Parker, G.G., Hely, A.G., Keighton, W.B., Olmstead, F.H.: 1964, Water Resources of the Delaware River Basin, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 381, p. 200.
Peck, D.V., Engles, J.L., Howe, K.M. and Pollard, J.E.: 1988, Aquatic Effects Research Program: Episodic Response Project Integrated Quality Assurance Plan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, Las Vegas, NV, p. 187.
Peters, N.E. and Driscoll, C.T.: 1987, Sources of Acidity during Snowmelt at a Forested Site in the West Central Adirondack Mountains, New York, International Association of Hydrologic Sciences Symposium, Vancouver, B.C.
Peters, N.E. and Murdoch, P.S.: 1985, Water Air Soil Pollut. 26, 387.
Rantz, S.E.: 1982, Measurement and Computation of Stream Flow. Volume 1: Measurement of Stage and Discharge, U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2175, p. 284.
Rascher, C.M., Driscoll, C.T. and Peters, N.E.: 1987, Biogeochemistry 3, 209.
Rich, J.L.: 1934, Glacial Geology of the Catskills, New York State Museum Bulletin 299, p. 180.
Rosenqvist, I.T.: 1978, Sci. Total Environ. 10, 39.
Sen, P.K.: 1968, Am. Statist. Assoc. 63, 1379.
Simpson, J.C. and Olsen, A.R.: 1990, 1987 Wet Deposition Temporal and Spatial Patterns in North America, Pacific Northwest Laboratory Report PNL-7208, Richland, WA.
Stoddard, J.L. and Kellogg, J.H.: Water Air Soil Pollut., this volume.
Stoddard, J.L. and Murdoch, P.S.: 1991, in Acidic Deposition and Aquatic Ecosystems: Regional Case Studies, Charles, D.F. ed., Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 237.
Sullivan, T.J., Driscoll, C.T., Gherini, S.A., Munson, R.K., Cook, R.B., Charles, D.F. and Yatsko, C.P.: 1989, Nature 338, 408.
U.S. EPA: 1989, Handbook of Methods for Acid Deposition Studies: Field Methods for Surface Water Chemistry, U.S. EPA Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV, EPA/600/4-89/020.
U.S. EPA: 1991, Data User's Guide to the U.S. EPA Long-Term Monitoring Project: Quality Assurance Plan and Data Dictionary, U.S. EPA Environmental Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR, EPA/600/3-91/072, p. 106.
Way, J.H.: 1972, A More Detailed Discussion of the Depositional Environmental Analysis-Middle and Upper Devonian Sedimentary Rocks, Catskill Mountain Area, New York, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, Ph.D. dissertation, p. 145.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Murdoch, P.S., Stoddard, J.L. Chemical characteristics and temporal trends in eight streams of the Catskill Mountains, New York. Water Air Soil Pollut 67, 367–395 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00478154
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00478154