strategies for dealing with acid deposition
Still, even if the utility tests prove successful, widespread commercial use probably won't get under way until the early 1990s. Many of the effects of acidic deposition depend on the rate at which acidifying compounds are deposited from the atmosphere, compared with the rate at which acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) is generated within the ecosystem.
The size of the utilities affected varies somewhat among the bills.
In New England and in the eastern Catskill region of New York (6834 lakes), 5% of the lakes have ANC values of less than 0 eq L1, and 10% have ANC values between 0 and 50 eq L1. Less aggressive proposals for controls on S emissions will result in slower chemical and biological recovery and in delays in regaining the services of a fully functional ecosystem.
Calcium, however, directly ameliorates the toxic stress caused by H+ and Al (Brown 1983). Thus, surface waters with low ANC and pH as well as high concentrations of inorganic monomeric Al are less hospitable to fish. Results of an in situ bioassay in Buck Creek, Adirondack Mountains, in spring 1990: (a) discharge, (b) acid-neutralizing capacity, (c) pH, (d) concentration of inorganic monomeric aluminum, and (e) cumulative percentage of mortality of brook trout over time. Efforts in Congress to impose tougher controls on plant emissions - a move opposed by the Reagan administration, which believes more research needs to be done into the causes of acid - were recently scuttled by the House. unless you renew or Dise Bormann All bills pertain to the 50 US states and the District of Columbia, except Senate 172, which is limited to the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. WA
Lkewille CT The PnET models have been used extensively at HBEF to investigate the effects of disturbance (e.g., cutting, climatic disturbance, and air pollution) on forest and aquatic resources (Aber and Driscoll 1997, Aber et al. Pace McDowell 1997, Gbondo-Tugbawa et al. John L. Stoddard is a research life scientist at US Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR 97333.
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GE Dry deposition is monitored by the EPA Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) at approximately 70 sites, as well as by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration AIRMoN (Atmospheric Integrated Monitoring Network)-dry program at 13 sites. Natural acidification processes include the production and transport of organic acids derived from decomposing plant material or of inorganic acids originating from the oxidation of naturally occurring S or N pools (i.e., pyrite, N2 fixation followed by nitrification) from the soil to the surface waters. 1996) indicate that acidic deposition has enhanced the depletion of exchangeable nutrient cations in acid-sensitive areas of the Northeast. Data were obtained for the NADP/NTN and for the model of Grimm and Lynch (1997), Figure 5. 1999), cloud and fog depositions in the northeastern United States have been monitored for limited periods at selected coastal and high-elevation (more than 1100 m) sites. In streams that exhibited episodic acidification, radio-tagged brook trout emigrated downstream during episodes, whereas radio-tagged fish in nonacidic streams did not. Butler MR. Drohan Such variations complicated the relationships between emissions and deposition (Lynch et al.
1999). Increased stream NO3 concentrations have also been observed after experimental additions of N to a small watershed in Maine (Norton et al. 2001). We know little about the mechanisms and time frame for recovery of terrestrial ecosystems after decreases in acidic deposition, but it is likely to be at least decades after soil chemistry is restored because of the long life of tree species and the complex interactions of soil, roots, microbes, and soil biota. Malm Imbalances in ecosystem S budgets may also be influenced by the weathering of S-bearing minerals or by the underestimation of dry deposition inputs of S. Further effort is needed to quantify such processes more accurately. Cass JD Driscoll In contrast to the patterns at HBEF, regional sites showed no significant trends in concentrations of NO3. In some waters ANC values decrease below 0 eq L1 only for short periods (i.e., hours to weeks), when discharge is highest. Dry deposition contributes a considerable amount of S and N to the Northeast, although accurate measurements are difficult to obtain, as noted above. It is a slightly different technology and uses calcium instead of ammonia to remove acids. Acid-neutralizing capacity largely controls pH and the bioavailability of Al (Driscoll and Schecher 1990). Two novel techniques are gaining ground: * Fluidized bed combustion. contact customer service Jordan Estimates of past and future atmospheric sulfur deposition (a) and predictions of soil and stream water chemistry, using the model PnET-BGC for Watershed 6 of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. To date, investigations of possible effects of acidic deposition on trees in the Northeast have focused primarily on red spruce and sugar maple. A clear link exists between acidic water, which results from atmospheric deposition of strong acids, and fish mortality. 19841987. Most, too, produce large amounts of gray-white sludge as a byproduct - itself a growing pollution problem. Inputs of acidic deposition to regions with base-poor soils have resulted in the acidification of soil waters, shallow groundwaters, streams, and lakes in parts of the northeastern United States and elsewhere. Although it is unlikely that aquatic ecosystems could be restored to the exact conditions that existed before acidification, improvement in the chemical environment is expected to allow recovery of the ecosystem function that supports improved biotic diversity and productivity. 1994). JW
WF.
Rustad Mather Martin L Once base saturation is reduced in the upper mineral soil, organic acids tend to mobilize Al through formation of organicAl complexes, most of which are deposited lower in the soil profile through adsorption to mineral surfaces.
Model calculations indicate that the magnitude and rate of recovery from acidic deposition in the northeastern United States is directly proportional to the magnitude of emissions reductions. or call us at 1-617-450-2300. Several bills retain the cap and trade structure, expanding that approach to include NOx. Most of the acidic and acid-sensitive surface waters in New York State are located in the Adirondack and Catskill regions.
2001), stream water ANC values at the HBEF remain below 0 eq L1. Recent studies based on the analysis of soil (Lawrence et al. RA High concentrations of both H+ (measured as low pH) and inorganic monomeric Al are directly toxic to fish (Baker and Schofield 1982). JN TA.
CT
. Westinghouse is working on still another version which, it says, will be less energy intensive than some of the others. Weathers LW DF. Red spruce is common in Maine, where it is an important commercial species. Driscoll
23-721, The potential for restoration of acid-damaged lake trout lakes, Streamwater chemistry and nutrient budgets for forested watersheds in New England: Variability and management implications, Factors contributing to sugar maple decline along topographic gradients on the glaciated and unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen oxides onto the landscape contributes to coastal eutrophication in the Northeast United States, Recent and historic red spruce mortality: Evidence of climatic influence, Human contributions to the terrestrial nitrogen flux, Lake water quality improvements and recovering aquatic communities, Restoration and Recovery of an Industrial Region: Progress in Restoring the Smelter-Damaged Landscape Near Sudbury, Canada, Application of the forest-soil-water model (PnET-BGC/CHESS) to the Lysina catchment, Czech Republic, Adirondack Lakes Study. Likens At least 70 boilers and incinerators are in operation at oil plants, chemical firms, universities, and other sites across the country. MP 1994a). 1999), and the use of strontium stable isotope ratios (Bailey et al.
Although uncertainties remain, our analysis indicates that current regulations will not adequately achieve the desired outcomes of the 1990 CAAA. RA BP Battaglin Study region for the analysis of acidic-deposition effects on forest and aquatic ecosystems is indicated by the shaded area. Mitchell WC 1996). FH Much research, for instance, is going into cleaning up coal before it even goes into the power plant. Driscoll RW Mills BW KJ Wigington Gregory B. Lawrence is a research scientist of water resources at the US Geological Survey, Troy, NY 12180. Turner However, when compared to populations of acid-sensitive EMAP lakes (acid-neutralizing capacity [ANC] less than 50 eq L1), then 28%, 77%, and 32% of the lakes have lower concentrations of the sum of base cations, of SO24, and of pH, respectively, than found in the stream water draining Watershed 6 at HBEF. McNulty Long GJ Gene E. Likens is director and G. Evelyn Hutchinson Chair in Ecology, and Kathleen C. Weathers is a research scientist and head of Laboratory Services, at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545. Schofield Sulfuric and nitric acids have acidified soils, lakes, and streams, thereby stressing or killing terrestrial and aquatic biota.
Results of the analysis can be summarized as follows: Of the acid-sensitive lakes (ANC less than 50 eq L1), 83% were dominated by inorganic anions, with SO24 constituting 82% of the total anionic charge.
S. Another agent is added, often ammonia, to help solidify the pollutants and produce a waste product usable in fertilizers.
Wright Smith The Christian Science Monitor has expired. PR. Therefore, lakes with higher Ca2+ are more hospitable to fish, as indicated by the synoptic survey conducted by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation (ALSC; Gallagher and Baker 1990). AW
This lack of a long-term pattern is consistent with the minimal changes in NOx emissions over the past 30 years.
The need to resolve the problem of acidic deposition is made more apparent as the many linkages between acidic deposition and other environmental issues are more clearly documented (Table 1). US Environmental Protection Agency, Acid Deposition Standard Feasibility Study Report to Congress, Office of Air and Radiation, Acid Rain Division, [USEPA] US Environmental Protection Agency, National Air Pollutant Emission Trends, 19001998, Episodic acidification of small streams in the northeastern United States: Fish mortality in field bioassays, Cloud water chemistry from ten sites in North America, Episodic acidification of small streams in the northeastern United States: Episodic Response Project, 2001 American Institute of Biological Sciences, Rising from the Ashes: The Biogeographic Origins of Modern Coral Reef Fishes, Lakes in Hot Water: The Impacts of a Changing Climate on Aquatic Ecosystems, Environmental Discourse Exhibits Consistency and Variation across Spatial Scales on Twitter, Systems in Flames: Dynamic Coproduction of SocialEcological Processes, Patterns of precipitation and deposition of S and N, https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0180:ADITNU]2.0.CO;2, www.rcolka.cr.usgs.gov/midconherb/hypoxia. TJ. From an extensive review of the literature, Cronan and Grigal (1995) concluded that a Ca2+:Al ratio of less than 1.0 in soil water indicated a greater than 50% probability of impaired growth in red spruce. The ERP streams with high fish mortality during acid episodes had lower brook trout density and biomass and lacked the more acid-sensitive species (blacknose dace and sculpins).
Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. Cronan GE Driscoll GE Question 2: What are the effects of acidic deposition on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the northeastern United States, and how have these ecosystems responded to changes in emissions and deposition? Fortunately, the NADP, CASTNet, and AIRMoN-dry networks are in place to measure anticipated improvements in air quality and in atmospheric deposition. We adopt the emissions estimates for each of the bills as reported by the Congressional Research Service, and we assume equal levels of compliance under each bill (Parker 2000). JA Numerous studies have shown that fish species richness (the number of fish species in a water body) is positively correlated with pH and ANC values (Figure 8; Rago and Wiener 1986, Kretser et al. Galloway
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Acid neutralizing processes occur in the solution phase, and their rates are closely linked with the movement of water through terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We thank James A. Lynch and Jeffery W. Grimm, Pennsylvania State University, for their contribution of the wet sulfate deposition figure. PG GB PJ
. JS To support specific investigations (e.g., Weathers et al. This higher acid input has evidently resulted in greater depletion of exchangeable base cations in acid-sensitive watersheds in New York (Stoddard et al. Fernandez Unfortunately, model calculations do not exist for the entire Northeast region. Hedin Christopher Eagar is an ecologist and project leader at the Northeast Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Durham, NH 03824.
Stoddard
. Bailey LO Analysis of data from the EPA's Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) Program, which was initiated in the early 1980s, showed significant declines in surface water SO2minus;4 and in the sum of strong acid anions (SO24 + NO3) in the Adirondack and Catskill subregion, as well as in the New England subregion (Stoddard et al. CL. WA The technology has long been used in industry. Lindsey GM Emissions from crop senescence may be as large but are difficult to measure accurately (Lawrence et al.
