Acidification of Freshwater Ecosystems

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Acidification of Freshwater Ecosystems

• Ted Georgian
• Bio. 403

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SO4 sources
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Tall stacks provision
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Artificially acidified rain
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Sensitivity to acidity varies
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Effects on aquatic ecosystems
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Acid buildup in snow packs in spring
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Species that reproduce in the spring are
particularly vulnerable
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Cation exchange in soils
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Areas of concern
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pH drops in spring
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Consequences can be dire
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Adirondack streams and lakes

• http//www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscop
  e/Autumn2002/Images/acid_map.gif

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Adirondack streams and lakes
Chronic and Episodic Acidification of Adirondack
Streams from Acid Rain in 20032005 J.
Environmental Quality, February 4, 2008. The
contribution of acidic deposition to stream
acidification was greater than that of strongly
acidic organic acids in each of the surveys by
factors ranging from approximately 2 to 5, but
was greatest during spring snowmelt and least
during elevated base flow in August. During
snowmelt, the percentage attributable to acidic
deposition was 81, whereas during the October
2003 survey, when dissolved organic carbon (DOC)
concentrations were highest, this percentage was
66. The total length of stream reaches estimated
to be prone to acidification was 718 km out of a
total of 1237 km of stream reaches that were
assessed.
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Opalescent River beautiful but nearly dead
http//wandel.ca/homepage/adk_summitlog.html
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Clean Air Acts (1970, 1990)

• Congress created the Acid Rain Program in Title
  IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The Acid
  Rain Program has the goals of lowering the
  electric power industrys annual emissions of
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) to half of 1980 levels,
  capping them at 8.95 million tons starting in
  2010, and
• Nitrogen oxide ( NOx) to 2 million tons lower
  than the forecasted level for 2000, reducing
  annual emissions to a level of 6.1 million tons
  in 2000

http//www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progress/arp03.html
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SO4 scrubbers
http//oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-
book/acidrain.html
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Reduction in sulfate deposition
1989-91 data
2001-2003 data
More information EPAs Acid Rain Program 2005
Progress Report
http//www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progress/arp03.html