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ESTIMATED BACKGROUND CONCENTRATIONS OF SULFATE IN DILUTE LAKES 1
Author(s) -
Brakke David F,
Henriksen Ame,
Norton Stephen A.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1989.tb03059.x
Subject(s) - sulfate , environmental science , environmental chemistry , precipitation , deposition (geology) , sea salt , hydrology (agriculture) , chemistry , geology , geography , aerosol , sediment , meteorology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
Lake water sulfate values were examined for two areas in western Norway and the western United States presently receiving low levels of sulfate in atmospheric deposition. Data from these areas were used to estimate background concentrations of sulfate in lakes found in areas currently receiving acidic deposition. The two areas contain dilute lakes with concentrations of sea‐salt corrected Ca+ Mg less than 50 μeq/l or conductivity < 10μS cm ‐1 and receive precipitation with volume‐weighted mean pH > 4.8. Based on observations from these areas, we conclude that background sulfate concentrations were probably no more than 10 to 15 μeq L ‐1 for areas of Norway and the U.S. containing lakes with low concentrations of base cations. For southern Norway and the northeastern U.S., present lakewater sulfate concentrations represent an increase of 7 to 10 fold above these estimated background values.