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Assessing the Chemical and Biological Resilience of Lakes in the Cascade Range to Acidic Deposition

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Abstract

The potential for atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen to affect lakes in the Northwestern USA to cause lake acidification was assessed by examining four lakes extending from southern Oregon into the central Washington Cascades. The four lakes were dilute (conductivity 2.2 to 3.6 μS/cm), low ANC (−3 to 11 μeq/L) systems, located in subalpine to alpine settings in designated wilderness areas. The four lakes were cored, dated with 210Pb and 14C, and analyzed for sediment nutrients and diatom remains. Diatom-inferred changes in chemistry were made possible through an earlier project to create a diatom calibration set for the Cascades. The three southern lakes exhibited volcanic inputs of ash or tephra, but diatom stratigraphy generally showed only modest responses to these events. None of the lakes exhibited any recent trends in diatom-inferred pH. The most significant finding with respect to paleolimnology was that Foehn Lake, WA, was formed in the twentieth century (1930 ± 7 years), likely as a result of melting of an adjacent snowfield. Current deposition was estimated using the AIRPACT-3 system, and lake chemistry was simulated using the CE-QUAL-W2 hydrodynamic model that had been modified to represent acid-base chemistry. The model simulations showed that the three southern lakes in the transect were insensitive to increases of nitrogen and sulfur until simulated increases reached 300% of current levels. Foehn Lake showed simulated declines of pH and ANC beginning at 50% increases over current deposition of S and N. The three southern lakes are resistant to changes from atmospheric deposition and other disturbances because of long hydraulic residence times, allowing internal processes to neutralize acidic inputs.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the Air Program, Pacific Northwest (Region 6) under contract # 53-046W-4-0580/AG-046W-P-06-0144 to MaxDepth Aquatics, Inc. Forest Service personnel responsible for contributing to the field sampling included Barry Gall and his assistants. Bob Kotchenruther, USEPA-Reg. X, kindly provided the atmospheric modeling results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MaxDepth Aquatics, Inc., Bend, OR, 97703, USA

    Joseph Eilers & Benn Eilers

  2. Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Kellie Vache

  3. Department of Biology, Indianapolis University, Indianapolis, IN, 46227, USA

    Roger Sweets

  4. Cosray Technology Centre, MyCore Scientific, Inc., Deep River, ON, K0J 1P0, Canada

    Jack Cornett

Authors
  1. Joseph Eilers
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  2. Kellie Vache
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  3. Benn Eilers
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  4. Roger Sweets
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  5. Jack Cornett
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Correspondence to Joseph Eilers.

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Eilers, J., Vache, K., Eilers, B. et al. Assessing the Chemical and Biological Resilience of Lakes in the Cascade Range to Acidic Deposition. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 432 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3135-1

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