Executive summary; assessing the response of Emerald Lake, an alpine watershed in Sequoia National Park, California, to acidification during snowmelt using a simple hydrochemical model

Hooper, Richard; West, Christopher T.; Peters, Norman E.

doi:10.3133/ofr90357

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Moreover, it is often assumed that melting of a snow cover can be described by a main ionic peak followed by a period of dilution (e.g. Hooper et al, 1990). Hence common field practices in alpine areas and assumptions about the character of the snowmelt runoff may yield a poorly defined ionic pulse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracer release in melting snow: Diurnal and seasonal patterns

Bales

Davis

Williams

1993

Hydrological Processes

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Time sequences of tracer release from an alpine snowpack were investigated at Mammoth Mountain, California in 1989. Lysimeter discharge and conductivity were recorded at 30 minute intervals. Three separate applications of chemical tracers were added to the snow surface to provide an ionic signal with known origins in the snowpack. Grab samples of meltwater and snow from snow pits were analysed for chemical composition. There were three distinct discharge periods, each characterized by diurnal fluctuations in discharge and conductivity. An inverse relation between discharge and conductivity was interpreted as the combination of a concentrated signal from regions in the pack less subject to leaching and a relatively dilute signal from near the snow surface where the snow was actively melting Conductivity peaks were highest and diurnal changes greatest immediately following periods of freezing. Grab samples showed little correlation with either 30 minute or daily average conductivity. Relative concentrations of individual ions in meltwater were similar between samples. Non-systematic grab sampling of snowpack meltwater is shown to be potentially misleading because of multiple ionic pulses over the ablation season and strong diurnal fluctuations in chemical concentrations. Continuous measurements of discharge conductivity are a good indicator of diurnal and seasonal changes in the rate of ion release from the snowpack, and should be used to guide sampling. Composite, or time-integrated samples rather than grab samples may be required to estimate daily and weekly rates of ion release in melting snow.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracer release in melting snow: Diurnal and seasonal patterns

Bales

Davis

Williams

1993

Hydrological Processes

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“…If rainfall volume exceeds the increase in discharge (as was usually the case), the "excess" rainfall is areally proportioned (along with the solutes it contains) among the subbasins and is added to the snowpack. At Emerald Lake, rainfall was minor in 1986, but provided more than 10 percent of the precipitation in 1987 (Hooper, West, and Peters, 1990). …”

Section: Alpine Lake Forecastermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Alpine Lake Forecaster (ALF) is a computer simulation model developed to predict the effects of acid deposition on streamwater and lake-water quality in alpine catchments (Hooper, West, and Peters, 1990). ALP consists of a hydrologic model, which is designed for snowmelt periods, coupled with a geochemical model that contains primary mineral weathering reactions and carbonate equilibria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This section provides information on the structure of ALF and its past application to Emerald Lake, as described by Hooper, West, and Peters (1990), that will be needed for the sensitivity analysis of ALF and for its application to the Four-Lake data set. In addition, the theoretical background for the alternate interpretation of the Emerald Lake data using end-member mixing analysis (EMMA) is presented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of a hydrochemical model and a multivariate soil-solution mixing model to alpine watersheds in the Sierra Nevada, California

Hooper¹,

Peters²

1993

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Alkalinity buildup during silicate weathering under a snow cover

Berner

Rao

1997

Aquat Geochem

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Results from the study of experimental plots at Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire for the years 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996 show that the water draining from under a plot planted with pine trees exhibits its highest alkalinity during the year at about the time of spring snowmelt. This high alkalinity is believed to be due to buildup during the winter under a snow cover. The soil solutions are protected from acidic precipitation by the snow, and the natural process of the reaction of organic acids and carbonic acid with minerals and exchange complexes to form dissolved HCO 3 (and organic anions) proceeds with an increase in alkalinity through the winter. When the snow melts the acidic meltwater mixes with, neutralizes and displaces the water previously occupying the soil interstices. This leads to a decided drop in alkalinity of the drainage water. The alkalinity buildup under the pine plot was found to be two to ten times greater than under a similar plot containing no higher plants. This strongly emphasizes the important role of plants, in their ability to produce organic acids and high levels of CO2, in accelerating the weathering of silicate minerals.

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Executive summary; assessing the response of Emerald Lake, an alpine watershed in Sequoia National Park, California, to acidification during snowmelt using a simple hydrochemical model

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Tracer release in melting snow: Diurnal and seasonal patterns

Tracer release in melting snow: Diurnal and seasonal patterns

Application of a hydrochemical model and a multivariate soil-solution mixing model to alpine watersheds in the Sierra Nevada, California

Alkalinity buildup during silicate weathering under a snow cover

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