Stream acidification in the Catskill Mountains of New York

Murdoch, Peter S.; Barnes, Charles Reid

doi:10.3133/ofr96221

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The area is underlain by¯at-lying interbedded sandstones, shales and conglomerates of the Catskill formation (Parker et al, 1964), which are largely covered by glacial deposits. These are composed mainly of local material, but the presence of small quantities of limestone exotics may have a signi®cant eect on stream acidity (Murdoch and Barnes, 1989). Soils are primarily shallow, bouldery Inceptisols, and all basins are covered by hardwood forest.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Component flow processes at four streams in the Catskill Mountains, New York, analysed using episodic concentration/discharge relationships

Evans¹,

Davies²,

Murdoch³

1999

Hydrol. Process.

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Plots of solute concentration against discharge have been used to relate stream hydrochemical variations to processes of¯ow generation, using data collected at four streams in the Catskill Mountains, New York, during the Episodic Response Project of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Results suggest that a two-component system of shallow and deep saturated subsurface¯ow, in which the two components respond simultaneously during hydrologic events, may be applicable to the study basins. Using a large natural sea-salt sodium input as a tracer for precipitation, it is argued that an additional distinction can be made between preevent and event water travelling along the shallow subsurface¯ow path. Pre-event water is thought to be displaced by in®ltrating event water, which becomes dominant on the falling limb of the hydrograph. Where, as appears to be the case for sulfate, a solute equilibrates rapidly within the soil, the pre-event±event water distinction is unimportant. However, for some solutes there are clear and consistent compositional dierences between water from the two sources, evident as a hysteresis loop in concentration±discharge plots. Nitrate and acidity, in particular, appear to be elevated in event water following percolation through the organic horizon. Consequently, the most acidic, high nitrate conditions during an episode generally occur after peak discharge. A simple conceptual model of episode runo generation is presented on the basis of these results.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Component flow processes at four streams in the Catskill Mountains, New York, analysed using episodic concentration/discharge relationships

Evans¹,

Davies²,

Murdoch³

1999

Hydrol. Process.

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“…The similarly low concentrations of DOC in all watersheds indicated that organic anion concentrations contributed little to the total anionic charge. In general, acid buffering of the streams decreased from northwest to south and east, as was found by Murdoch and Barnes ().…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The Neversink and Rondout watersheds both had a substantial number of sampled streams prone to acidification based on the spring and fall surveys: 82% and 92% in the Neversink and 88% and 50% in the Rondout based on the spring and fall, respectively. In comparison, Murdoch and Barnes () suggested that all of 66 Catskill streams sampled during surveys in the mid‐1980s had the potential for episodic acidification during high flow periods based on relationships with intensively sampled streams. The same study also identified 48% of the streams sampled as insensitive to acidification, 45% of the streams sampled as sensitive to acidification and 7% of the streams as acidified (chronic acidification) during baseflow.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this basin, Lawrence () identified 16% of stream reaches as chronically acidified and 66% of stream reaches as episodically acidified. A region‐wide baseflow stream survey by Murdoch and Barnes () indicated that well‐buffered streams predominated outside the Neversink basin as a result of carbonate‐bearing glacial deposits originating from geologic formations that lie north of the Catskill region. However, the little information available on soils outside the Neversink Basin suggested that these soils were also acidic (Murdoch and Barnes, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of soil‐streamwater relationships to assess regional patterns of acidic deposition effects in the northeastern USA

Siemion

Lawrence

Murdoch

2013

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:Declines of acidic deposition levels by as much as 50% since 1990 have led to partial recovery of surface waters in the northeastern USA but continued depletion of soil calcium through this same period suggests a disconnection between soil and surface water chemistry. To investigate the role of soil-surface water interactions in recovery from acidification, the first regional survey to directly relate soil chemistry to stream chemistry during high flow was implemented in a 4144-km 2 area of the Catskill region of New York, where acidic deposition levels are among the highest in the East. More than 40% of 95 streams sampled in the southern Catskill Mountains were determined to be acidified and had inorganic monomeric aluminum concentrations that exceeded a threshold that is toxic to aquatic biota. More than 80% likely exceeded this threshold during the highest flows, but less than 10% of more than 100 streams sampled were acidified in the northwestern portion of the region. Median Oa horizon soil base saturation ranged from 50% to 80% at 200 sites across the region, but median base saturation in the upper 10 cm of the B horizon was less than 20% across the region and was only 2% in the southern area. Aluminum is likely to be interfering with root uptake of calcium in the mineral horizon in approximately half the sampled watersheds. Stream chemistry was highly variable over the Catskill region and, therefore, did not always reflect the calcium depletion of the B horizon that our sampling suggested was nearly ubiquitous throughout the region. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Stream acidification in the Catskill Mountains of New York

Cited by 2 publications

References 18 publications

Component flow processes at four streams in the Catskill Mountains, New York, analysed using episodic concentration/discharge relationships

Component flow processes at four streams in the Catskill Mountains, New York, analysed using episodic concentration/discharge relationships

Use of soil‐streamwater relationships to assess regional patterns of acidic deposition effects in the northeastern USA

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