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Increasing role of nitrogen in the acidification of surface waters in the Adirondack Mountains, New York

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Abstract

Assessments of the aquatic effects of acidic deposition have focused on sulfur, as have recent efforts to control the emissions of acidifying compounds. Nitrogen dynamics were excluded from most acidic deposition modeling studies because it was believed that terrestrial ecosystems strongly retain N and because modeling N is a more formidable task than modeling S due to the influence of complex biological processes on N cycling. Re-examination of available data for the Adirondack Mountains of New York suggests that N deposition may be contributing to both chronic and episodic acidification of freshwaters to a greater extent than is generally believed. Previous research concluded that N has played a limited role in acidification processes in these lakes, based on regional averages of chronic chemistry. However, it is now known that historic acidification responses have been spatially variable within the Adirondack Mountains and that the declines in lakewater pH have been less than previously believed. Lakewater NO3 − concentrations are commonly in the range of 5 to 25 μeq L−1 on a chronic basis in portions of the Adirondack region that have experienced significant chronic acidification. These NO3 − concentrations correspond in magnitude to inferred historical acidification. Furthermore, the relative importance of NO3 − as an agent of acidification increases dramatically during snowmelt when conditions are most toxic to fish. The consequence of not addressing N in formulating acidification recovery strategies for the Adirondacks includes the likelihood that we will overestimate the response of surface water to the mandated sulfur emissions reductions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. E&S Environmental Chemistry, Inc., P.O. Box 609, 97339, Corvallis, OR, USA

    T. J. Sullivan, J. M. Eilers & K. B. Vaché

  2. Department of Environmental Science, University of Virginia, 22903, VA, Charlottesville, USA

    B. J. Cosby

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  1. T. J. Sullivan
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  2. J. M. Eilers
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  4. K. B. Vaché
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Sullivan, T.J., Eilers, J.M., Cosby, B.J. et al. Increasing role of nitrogen in the acidification of surface waters in the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Water Air Soil Pollut 95, 313–336 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02406172

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