The Catskill Mountains have been adversely impacted by decades of acid deposition, however, since the early 1990s, levels have decreased sharply as a result of decreases in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. This study examines trends in acid deposition, stream-water chemistry, and soil chemistry in the southeastern Catskill Mountains. We measured significant reductions in acid deposition and improvement in stream-water quality in 5 streams included in this study from 1992 to 2014. The largest, most significant trends were for sulfate (SO) concentrations (mean trend of -2.5 μeq L yr); hydrogen ion (H) and inorganic monomeric aluminum (Al) also decreased significantly (mean trends of -0.3 μeq L yr for H and -0.1 μeq L yr for Al for the 3 most acidic sites). Acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) increased by a mean of 0.65 μeq L yr for all 5 sites, which was 4 fold less than the decrease in SO concentrations. These upward trends in ANC were limited by coincident decreases in base cations (-1.3 μeq L yr for calcium + magnesium). No significant trends were detected in stream-water nitrate (NO) concentrations despite significant decreasing trends in NO wet deposition. We measured no recovery in soil chemistry which we attributed to an initially low soil buffering capacity that has been further depleted by decades of acid deposition. Tightly coupled decreasing trends in stream-water silicon (Si) (-0.2 μeq L yr) and base cations suggest a decrease in the soil mineral weathering rate. We hypothesize that a decrease in the ionic strength of soil water and shallow groundwater may be the principal driver of this apparent decrease in the weathering rate. A decreasing weathering rate would help to explain the slow recovery of stream pH and ANC as well as that of soil base cations.
Recent soils research has shown that important chemical soil characteristics can change in less than a decade, often the result of broad environmental changes. Repeated sampling to monitor these changes in forest soils is a relatively new practice that is not well documented in the literature and has only recently been broadly embraced by the scientific community. The objective of this protocol is therefore to synthesize the latest information on methods of soil resampling in a format that can be used to design and implement a soil monitoring program. Successful monitoring of forest soils requires that a study unit be defined within an area of forested land that can be characterized with replicate sampling locations. A resampling interval of 5 years is recommended, but if monitoring is done to evaluate a specific environmental driver, the rate of change expected in that driver should be taken into consideration. Here, we show that the sampling of the profile can be done by horizon where boundaries can be clearly identified and horizons are sufficiently thick to remove soil without contamination from horizons above or below. Otherwise, sampling can be done by depth interval. Archiving of sample for future reanalysis is a key step in avoiding analytical bias and providing the opportunity for additional analyses as new questions arise.
For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://store.usgs.gov.Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Siemion, Jason, McHale, M.R., and Davis, W.D., 2016, Suspended-sediment and turbidity responses to sediment and turbidity reduction projects in the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek, Watersheds, New York, 2010-14: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5157, 28 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165157. ISSN 2328-0328 (online) iii AcknowledgmentsWe gratefully acknowledge the support for this project provided by the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program. We also would like to extend our appreciation to John Byrnes and Daniel Edwards of the U.S. Geological Survey for their help with field work, to Hannah Ingleston of the U.S. Geological Survey for help processing samples, and to Gary Wall and Tim Hoffman of the U.S. Geological Survey for their help with sediment-turbidity regression development. Thank you to John Jastram and Kirk Smith of the U.S. Geological Survey for their constructive reviews and suggestions for improvement of this manuscript. Elevation, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum. Supplemental InformationSuspended-sediment concentrations are given in milligrams per liter (mg/L).Nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU) is measure of turbidity in a water sample, roughly equivalent to formazin turbidity unit (FTU) and Jackson turbidity unit (JTU). AbstractSuspended-sediment concentrations (SSCs) and turbidity were monitored within the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek tributaries to the upper Esopus Creek in New York, the main source of water to the Ashokan Reservoir, from October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2014. The purpose of the monitoring was to determine the effects of suspended-sediment and turbidity reduction projects (STRPs) on SSC and turbidity in two of the three streams; no STRPs were constructed in the Beaver Kill watershed. During the study period, four STRPs were completed in the Stony Clove Creek and Warner Creek watersheds. Daily mean SSCs decreased significantly for a given streamflow after the STRPs were completed. The most substantial decreases in daily mean SSCs were measured at the highest streamflows. Background SSCs, as measured in water samples collected in upstream reference stream reaches, in all three streams in this study were less than 5 milligrams per liter during low and high streamflows. Longitudinal ...
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