Identifying sources of stream water sulfate after a summer drought in the Sleepers River watershed (Vermont, USA) using hydrological, chemical, and isotopic techniques

Abstract

In many forested headwater catchments, peak SO 2� 4 concentrations in stream water occur in the late summer or fall following drought potentially resulting in episodic stream acidification. The sources of highly elevated stream water SO 2� 4 concentrations were investigated in a first order stream at the Sleepers River watershed (Vermont, USA) after the particularly dry summer of 2001 using a combination of hydrological, chemical and isotopic approaches. Throughout the summer of 2001 SO 2� 4 concentrations in stream