Investigation of wet acidic deposition episodes capable of damaging red spruce in the Mt. Mitchell State Park

Abstract

Cloud events whose wet deposition is comparable to that shown to trigger negative health symptoms in trees constitute environmentally significant episodes of wet deposition. They accounted for approximately one fourth of all cloud events that traversed the Mt. Mitchell State Park, NC, during the summer field seasons of 1986–1988 and 1993. The environmentally significant episodes of wet deposition most frequently occurred during the month of June. The June occurrence is equivalent to the frequency of acid mist treatments shown to initiate health related decline in Red Spruce. The slightly more than three seasons of data were analyzed for a possible relationship between cloudwater acidity, liquid water content, wind speed and wind direction. The data analysis shows: (i) A scatter plot of the liquid water flux versus the H + ion flux differentiates between environmentally significant and non-environmentally significant cloud events of wet deposition. (ii) The synoptic and resulting local wind speed and direction are important in determining whether a cloud event will be environmentally significant or not, since they are related to the origin and the approach of the airflow into the Mt. Mitchell site. (iii) A characteristic 850 mb height field associated with the most frequently occurring environmentally significant cloud only event of wet deposition. Further investigation of wet acidic deposition episodes capable of damaging Red Spruce in the Mt. Mitchell State Park