Paleoecological investigation of recent lake acidification in the northern Great Lakes states

Kingston, John C.; Cook, R.B.; Kreis, Russell G.; Camburn, Keith E.; Norton, Stephen A.; Sweets, P. Roger; Binford, Michael W.; Mitchell, Myron J.; Schindler, S. C.; Shane, Linda C. K.; King, George A.

doi:10.1007/bf00226322

Cited by 38 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…These lakes have a low buffering capacity, making them susceptible to acidification by acid rain; however, only three lakes showed a significant decrease in pH since settlement. These results are consistent with conclusions from the PIRLA project (Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification; Kingston et al 1990), which included three lakes from the NLF ecoregion and found changes in diatom-inferred pH since 1860 of less than 0.2 pH unit. The one lake in this region that records a significant increase in pH between 1750 and 1800 is situated in more carbonaterich terrain near the city of Grand Rapids.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…These impacts have been widely documented in a number of limnological (Edmondson and Lehman 1981;Lewis et al 1984;Jassby et al 1995) and paleolimnological (Engstrom et al 1985;Fritz et al 1993;Hall and Smol 1996) studies of individual lakes or small clusters of lakes, as well as in a limited number of larger-scale studies that address regional trends in water quality. These large regional studies were undertaken to evaluate lake acidification (Kingston et al 1990;Cumming et al 1992), forestry practices in western Canada (Laird and Cumming 2001), or limnological change in the eastern United States attributable to multiple environmental stressors, including diverse human activities (Rohm et al 1995;Dixit et al 1999;Siver et al 1999). Little synoptic work has been undertaken in central North America, where widespread agricultural and forestry practices, as well as mining, may have had significant impacts on aquatic ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Twentieth century water quality trends in Minnesota lakes compared with presettlement variability

Ramstack¹,

Fritz²,

Engstrom³

2004

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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A diatom-based transfer function was used to reconstruct water chemistry before European settlement in 55 Minnesota lakes. The lakes span three natural ecoregions, which differ in their history of land use, as well as in surficial geology, climate, and vegetation. Postsettlement trends were compared with water chemistry change reconstructed from two presettlement core sections (circa 1750 and 1800) as a measure of natural variability. Presettlement water quality changes were generally small and nondirectional in all three ecoregions. In contrast, half of the urban lakes showed a statistically significant increase in chloride, whereas 30% of urban and 30% of agricultural region lakes record a statistically significant increase in total phosphorus between 1800 and the present. These changes, which are attributed to road salt and nutrient runoff, are strongly correlated with the percentage of watershed area that is developed (residential or urban) in the case of chloride increases and the percentage of developed (metropolitan areas) or agricultural (agricultural areas) land in the case of nutrient increases. Water quality has changed little since 1800 for lakes in the forested regions of northeastern Minnesota. The few changes that are seen in this region are likely related to natural variations in climate or catchment soils.Résumé : L'utilisation d'une fonction de transfert basée sur les diatomées nous a permis de reconstituer la chimie des eaux dans cinquante-cinq lacs du Minnesota avant l'établissement des européens. Les lacs se répartissent dans trois écorégions naturelles qui différent par l'utilisation que l'on a fait des terres dans le passé, ainsi que par la géologie de surface, le climat et la végétation. Nous avons comparé les tendances qui sont apparues après la colonisation avec les changements estimés à partir de deux sections de carottes datant d'avant la colonisation (vers 1750 et 1800) qui repré-sentent la variabilité naturelle. Avant la colonisation, les changements de la qualité de l'eau dans les trois écorégions étaient généralement faibles et sans tendance marquée particulière. En revanche, entre 1800 et l'époque actuelle, la moitié des lacs urbains affichent une augmentation statistiquement significative des chlorures et 30 % des lacs urbains et 30 % des lacs des régions agricoles subissent une augmentation statistiquement significative du phosphore total. Il existe une forte corrélation entre ces changements, qui sont attribuables à l'apport du sel routier et de nutriments par ruissellement, avec le pourcentage des terres du bassin versant qui sont urbanisés (résidentielles ou urbaines) dans le cas de l'augmentation des chlorures ou alors développées (régions métropolitaines) ou exploitées pour l'agriculture (zones agricoles) dans le cas de l'augmentation des nutriments. Dans les régions forestières du nord-est du Minnesota, la qualité des eaux des lacs a peu varié depuis 1800. Les quelques changements observés dans cette région sont vraisemblablement reliés aux variations naturelles...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twentieth century water quality trends in Minnesota lakes compared with presettlement variability

Ramstack¹,

Fritz²,

Engstrom³

2004

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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“…These studies (e.g. Kingston, et al, 1990;Sweets et al, 1990) show that lakes in acid-sensitive regions receiving acidic precipitation have acidified (beyond their range of natural variability) and that these changes were correlated with known deposition patterns of strong, inorganic acids.…”

Section: H O W Can We Assess W H E N An E C O S Y S T E M Is Under Stmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleolimnology: an important tool for effective ecosystem management

Smol

1992

J Aquat Ecosyst Stress Recov

261

124

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Effective management of aquatic resources requires long-term environmental data. However, because long-term observations are rarely available, indirect proxy methods must be used to substitute for these missing historical data sets. Major advances have been made in paleohmnology over the last decade, and many of these advances can be applied directly to integrated and cost-effective assessments of aquatic ecosystem health. This commentary uses the analogy of human health to argue that paleolimnological data provide information crucial to the decision-making processes of ecosystem managers."We possess nothing certainly except the past" EVELYN WAUGtt (1945) Brideshead Revisited

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“…Published regional syntheses are available for lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, NY (Charles et al, 1990), the northern Great Lakes area , Florida (Sweets et al, 1990), and New England (Davis et al, in review). Inter-regional syntheses are available for PAH abundance (Furlong et al, 1987), S content of cores , S isotopes (Fry, 1990), 21~ (Binford, 1990;Binford etal., in review), and metal speciation (White & Gubala, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratigraphy of total metals in PIRLA sediment cores

et al. 1992

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Sediment cores from 30 low-alkalinity lakes in northern New England (NE), New York (NY), the northern Great Lakes States (NGLS) of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and Florida (FL) have been dated by 21~ and analyzed for water and organic content, eight major elements (A1, Ti, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, Na, K) plus four trace metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, and V). Variations in the percentages of major elements through time are dominated by long-term independent variations in the abundance of SiO2, FeO, and to a lesser extent Ca and A1. Additional variations are caused by varying proportions of inorganic matter. Major variations in chemistry are generally unrelated to documented disturbances in the watersheds; most disturbances are minor fires or selective logging.Accelerated accumulation of Pb from atmospheric sources into sediment first occurs in sediment dated between 1800 and 1850 in NY and NE, slightly later in the NGLS region, and about 1900 in FL. Modem accumulation rates in all areas are comparable (ca. 1 to 4 #g cm -2 yr-1). Accumulation rates of Pb in some lakes have declined significantly from 1975 to 1985. Atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic Zn and Cu is also indicated by generally increasing accumulation rates in sediment cores, but the record is not as clear nor are chemical profiles in all lakes parallel to the trends in atmospheric emissions inferred on the basis of fossil fuel consumption, smelting, and other industrial activities. Inter-lake variations in profiles of Cu and Zn are large. Vanadium accumulation rates increase by the 1940s in NY and NE, but not until the 1950s in the NGLS region. This timing correlates with regional trends in the combustion of fuel oil, a major source of atmospheric V.Acidification of some of the lakes is suggested by decreases in the concentration and accumulation rates of Mn, Ca, and Zn in recent sediment, relative to other elements of catchment origin. The decreases generally occur slightly before the onset of acidification as indicated by diatoms. Increased sediment accumulation rates for Fe may indicate the acidification of watershed soils. The use of the accumulation rate of TiO2 as an indicator of rates of erosion and for normalization of trace metal accumulation rates is in question for lakes where the flux of TiO2 from the atmosphere varies and is a significant fraction of the total flux of TiO2 to the sediment.

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Paleoecological investigation of recent lake acidification in the northern Great Lakes states

Cited by 38 publications

References 61 publications

Twentieth century water quality trends in Minnesota lakes compared with presettlement variability

Twentieth century water quality trends in Minnesota lakes compared with presettlement variability

Paleolimnology: an important tool for effective ecosystem management

Stratigraphy of total metals in PIRLA sediment cores

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