The episodic acidification of a stream with elevated concentrations of dissolved organic carbon

Abstract

AbstractOrganic acids are generally thought to play a minor role in the episodic acidification of streams in the USA. In this study, we investigated the episodic acidification of a stream at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire with high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and naturally occurring organic acids. We studied three events in 2001: spring snowmelt, which occurred from 6 April to 14 May and resulted in two distinct melt events; and two rain events, one on 17 June and the other on 17 July. During snowmelt events organic acids were a minor contributor to the short‐term acidification of stream water, with increases in NO3− and dilution of base cations being the dominant mechanisms. During summer rainfall events, however, increases in inputs of organic acids were the dominant mechanism of episodic acidification when soil water was the dominant contributor to stream discharge (59 to 66% of peak stream discharge). We also found that precipitation events occurring after relatively wet antecedent conditions (17 July event) resulted in more severe acid episodes than events that followed drier antecedent conditions (17 June event). The minimum acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) was only −19 µeq l−1 for the 17 June event, whereas the minimum ANC for the 17 July event was much lower (−62 µeq l−1) although the total rainfall amount was similar for the two events. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.