The effects of acidic deposition on streams in the Appalachian Mountain and Piedmont Region of the Mid‐Atlantic United States

摘要

Streams in the Appalachian Mountain area of the mid‐Atlantic receive some of the largest acidic deposition loadings of any region of the United States. A synthesis of the survey data from the mid‐Appalachians yields a consistent picture of the acid base status of streams. Acidic streams, and streams with very low acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), are almost all located in small (<20 km2), upland, forested catchments in areas of base‐poor bedrock. In the subpopulation of upland forested systems, which comprises about half the total stream population in the mid‐Appalachian area, data from various local surveys show that 6–27 of the streams are acidic, and about 25–50 have ANC less than 50 μeq L−1. After excluding streams with acid mine drainage, National Stream Survey estimates for the whole region show that there are 2330 km of acidic streams and 7500 km of streams with ANC less than 50 μeq L−1. Many of the streams with base flow ANC less than 50 μeq L−1become acidic during storm or snowmelt episodes. Sulfate from atmospheric deposition is the dominant source of strong acid anions in acidic mid‐Appalachian streams. Their lowpH (median, 4.9) and high levels of inorganic monomeric aluminum (median, 129 μg L−1) leached through soils by acidic deposition are causing damage to aquatic biota. Quantification of the extent of biological effects, however, is not possible with available data. Localized studies have shown that stream water ANC is closely related to bedrock mineralogy. Attempts to quantify this relationship across the mid‐Appalachians, however, were frustrated by the lack of adequate scale geologic mapping throughout the region. Sulfate mass balance analyses indicate that soils and surface waters of the region have not yet realized the full effects of elevated sulfur deposition due to watershed sulfate retention. Sulfur retention is likely to decrease in the future, resulting in f