Peer Reviewed: Have U.S. Surface Waters Responded to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments?

Kahl, Jeffrey S.; Stoddard, John L.; Haeuber, Richard; Paulsen, Steven G.; Birnbaum, Rona; Deviney, Frank A.; Webb, James R.; DeWalle, David R.; Sharpe, William E.; Driscoll, Charles T.; Herlihy, Alan T.; Kellogg, James H.; Murdoch, Peter S.; Roy, K.A.; Webster, Katherine E.; Urquhart, N. Scott

doi:10.1021/es040686l

Cited by 100 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The biological effects of acid deposition in these regions include loss of concentrations in surface waters in parallel with decreased SO 4 2 concentrations in precipitation, but little decrease in nitrate NO 3 concentrations, and only slight increases or no change in pH and ANC Driscoll et al, 1998;Stoddard et al, 1999;Watt et al, 2000;Clair et al, 2002). More recent analyses of recovery-related trends have generally found more widespread and significant changes in chemistry, with sharper decreases in SO 4 2 and NO 3 concentrations and increases in pH and ANC Driscoll et al, 2003;Kahl et al, 2004). These widespread trends toward recovery have also become evident in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountain regions Kahl et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Response of surface water chemistry to reduced levels of acid precipitation: comparison of trends in two regions of New York, USA

Burns

McHale

Driscoll

et al. 2005

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:In light of recent reductions in sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions mandated by Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, temporal trends and trend coherence in precipitation (1984-2001 and 1992-2001) and surface water chemistry (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001) were determined in two of the most acid-sensitive regions of North America, i.e. concentrations at all sites, and decreasing trends in NO 3 , C B , and H C concentrations and increasing trends in dissolved organic carbon at most sites. In contrast, acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) increased significantly at only about half the Adirondack lakes and in one of the Catskill streams. Flow correction prior to trend analysis did not change any trend directions and had little effect on SO 4 2 trends, but it caused several significant non-flow-corrected trends in NO 3 and ANC to become non-significant, suggesting that trend results for flow-sensitive constituents are affected by flow-related climate variation. SO 4 2 concentrations showed high temporal coherence in precipitation, surface waters, and in precipitation-surface water comparisons, reflecting a strong link between S emissions, precipitation SO 4 2 concentrations, and the processes that affect S cycling within these regions. NO 3 and H C concentrations and ANC generally showed weak coherence, especially in surface waters and in precipitation-surface water comparisons, indicating that variation in local-scale processes driven by factors such as climate are affecting trends in acid-base chemistry in these two regions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Response of surface water chemistry to reduced levels of acid precipitation: comparison of trends in two regions of New York, USA

Burns

McHale

Driscoll

et al. 2005

Hydrological Processes

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“…For example, between 2000 (the earliest year available) and 2012, average annual concentrations of PM 2.5 mass in near-surface air over the US decreased by 33 % (EPA, 2013), between 2000 and 2010, particulate SO 2− 4 concentrations in rural areas of the US decreased by 27 % (Hand et al, 2012) and, between 1980 and 2006, simulated AOD over the US decreased by 38 % (Streets et al, 2009). Reductions in emissions have also led to large decreases in the atmospheric deposition of SO 2− 4 , NO − 3 and H + and the associated recovery of some degraded watersheds in the eastern US (Kahl et al, 2004;Webb et al, 2004;Leibensperger et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term trends in aerosol and precipitation composition over the western North Atlantic Ocean at Bermuda

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Since the 1980s, emissions of SO 2 and NO x (NO+NO 2 ) from anthropogenic sources in the United States (US), Canada, and Europe have decreased significantly suggesting that the export of oxidized S and N compounds from surrounding continents to the atmosphere overlying the North Atlantic Ocean (NAO) has also decreased. 4 in the column scavenged by precipitation were relatively greater than those in near surface aerosol, which implies that, for these flow regimes, precipitation is a better indicator of overall anthropogenic impacts on the lower troposphere. Particulate nss SO 2− 4 under African flow also decreased significantly (34 %) whereas the corresponding decrease in nss SO 2− 4 associated with precipitation was insignificant. We infer that these trends were driven in part by reductions in the emissions and transport of oxidized S compounds from Europe. The lack of significant trends in NO − 3 associated with aerosols and precipitation under NEUS/SEUS flow is notable in light of the large decrease (37 %) in NO x emissions in the US and Canada over the period of record. Rapid chemical processing of oxidized N in marine air contributed to this lack of correspondence. Decreasing ratios of nss SO 2− 4 to NH + 4 and the significant decreasing trend in precipitation acidity (37 %) indicate that the total amount of acidity in the multiphase gas-aerosol system in the western NAO troposphere decreased over the period of record. Decreasing aerosol acidities would have shifted the phase partitioning of total NH 3 (NH 3 + particulate NH in precipitation at Bermuda over the period of record suggests that NH 3 emissions from surrounding continents also increased. Decreasing particulate nss SO 2− 4 in near-surface air under NEUS/SEUS flow over the period of record implies that the corresponding shortwave scattering and absorption by nss S and associated aerosols constituents also decreased. These changes in radiative transfer suggest a corresponding lower limit for net warming over the period in the range of 0.1-0.3 W m −2 .

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“…These air quality management programs have resulted in improvements in surface water chemistry in acidimpacted regions in the eastern U.S., including the Adirondacks (Kahl et al 2004). Waller et al (2012) showed that decreases in sulfate (SO 4 2-) and nitrate (NO 3 -) wet deposition have coincided with increases in the ANC of Adirondack lakes since the early 1990s.…”

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confidence: 99%

Factors influencing critical and target loads for the acidification of lake–watersheds in the Adirondack region of New York

et al. 2015

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Critical loads (CLs) and target loads (TLs) are tools used to guide air emissions control strategies for recovery of forest and aquatic ecosystems impacted by elevated atmospheric deposition. We use the dynamic hydrochemical model-PnET-BGC (photosynthesis evapotranspiration biogeochemical) to evaluate biophysical factors that affect CLs and TLs of acidity for the Constable Pond watershed, as an example of a chronically acidic drainage lake in the Adirondack region of New York, USA. These factors included a range of future scenarios of decreases in atmospheric nitrate, ammonium and sulfate deposition from present to 2200; historical forest harvesting; supply of naturally occurring organic acids; and variations in lake hydraulic residence time. Simulations show that decreases in sulfate deposition were more effective in increasing lake acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) than equivalent decreases in nitrate deposition, 4.6 times greater in 2040-2050 but decreasing to 2 times greater by 2200. Future lake ANC is anticipated to increase to a greater extent when the watershed experiences past forest cutting compared to a scenario without historical land disturbance. Under higher rates of watershed supply of naturally occurring dissolved organic carbon (DOC *1000 lmol C/L), ANC is lower than under relatively low DOC supply (*100 lmol C/L) due to strongly acidic functional groups associated with dissolved organic matter. Lakes with longer hydrologic residence time exhibit less historical acidification and can achieve a greater ANC from recovery than lakes with shorter hydrologic residence times due to in-lake production of ANC. This study improves understanding of how biogeochemical processes at the landscape level can influence the rate and extent of recovery of lake-watersheds in response to decreases in atmospheric deposition.

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Peer Reviewed: Have U.S. Surface Waters Responded to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments?

Cited by 100 publications

References 18 publications

Response of surface water chemistry to reduced levels of acid precipitation: comparison of trends in two regions of New York, USA

Response of surface water chemistry to reduced levels of acid precipitation: comparison of trends in two regions of New York, USA

Long-term trends in aerosol and precipitation composition over the western North Atlantic Ocean at Bermuda

Factors influencing critical and target loads for the acidification of lake–watersheds in the Adirondack region of New York

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