Factors Influencing Supply of Major Ions to Inland Waters, with Special Reference to the Atmosphere

Abstract

Sources of ion supply to natural inland waters include not only rocks and soils but also the atmosphere, whose significance has been underestimated. Atmospheric materials are transferred to surface waters bv rain or snow, as drv fallout, or in gaseous form; the sources are the s~a, land sur-EKes, volcanoes, products of air pollution, or organic debris. Ion supply by soil and rock weathering, which is usually more important than atmospheric supply, involves solution, oxidation-reduction reactions, activity of hydrogen ions, and complex formation.

Geological Survey research 1972

“…These extremely low values for Waldo, together with the documented presence of Sphagnum moss, suggest that peat may be decreasing the ionic content of the water below that in atmospheric precipitation. The removal of salts from water by Sphagnum has been noted by several authors (Bell, 1959;Gorham, 1961;Ruttner, 1963); the primary mechanism appears to be ion exchange with release of hydrogen ions.…”

Chloride in natural continental water--A review

“…Much of it was summarized by Gorham (1961) and by Junge (1963). The following three paragraphs are abstracted and paraphrased largely from the latter source, the numbers in parentheses being page references.…”

“…Earlier, Gorham (1958) observed a correlation between Cl and acidity in samples of urban precipitation where pH was less than 5.7. Correlation between H ions and SO4 was not significant.…”

“…But the industrial consumption of muriatic acid (commercialgrade HC1), and the use of salt in processing foods such as pickles and corned beef, suggests that the loads must be large. Atmospheric pollution by industrial HC1 fumes was discussed by Gorham (1958) with reference to Britain, and doubtless that pollution introduces some Cl into water. (1964), suggests that chlorination adds, generally, from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/L to the Cl concentration but that in some cities (Durfor and Becker, 1964, p. 136, 184) the increment is 5 to nearly 25 mg/L.…”

The Effects of Precipitation on Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Proposed Precipitation Chemistry Network

“…Our present ignorance of the total impact of changes in precipitation quality on the productivity and stability of ecosystems is especially profound. This paper has a fourfold purpose: (1) to describe the myriad of trace chemical constituents transferred from the atmosphere into the biosphere of the earth; (2) to define the range of beneficial and injurious ecological effects of perturbations in atmospheric deposition; (3) to explain the concepts of sensitive areas, life stages, and life forms; and (4) to describe briefly plans for a National Deposition Network and associated research on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the United States.…”