Regional Integrated Lake-Watershed Acidification Study (RILWAS): Major Findings for Adirondack and Blue Ridge Mountains

摘要

The primary objective of this investigation was to test the hydrologic and chemical theory developed during the Integrated Lake Watershed Acidification Study (ILWAS). A secondary objective was to assess the distribution of fish species among lakes of varying water quality. A total of 24 lake-watershed systems across the Adirondacks served as study sites over a period of two years. The U.S. Forest Service's, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, with over 20 years of data, was used to test the ILWAS model on a Blue Ridge mountain stream.nDifferences in wet deposition across sites resulted mainly from differences in precipitation volume rather than variations in solute concentrations. Lake and stream discharge reflected the hydrologic flowpaths that water followed through the terrestrial systems.