FY 2004 annual progress report: Correlating predictive contaminant deposition maps with streamwater chemistry at Acadia National Park: paired-gauged watershed research at Acadia National Park

Kahl, Steve; Nelson, Sarah; Fernandez, Ivan; Weathers, Kathleen

The following text sections taken from portions of the report: 'This project continues the long-term monitoring of paired calibrated watersheds at Acadia National Park. Now in the sixth year of data collection on continuous stream flow and chemistry monitoring, the project's main focus is atmospheric deposition and ecosystem effects, particularly emphasizing mercury.' 'The experimental design utilizes contrasting vegetation and soil characteristics between the two study watersheds that exist, in part, due to severe wildfire that burned the majority of one of the watersheds in 1947. The non-burned reference watershed, Hadlock Brook, drains the southwest slope of Sargent Mountain. The 'experimental' watershed is Cadillac Brook, located on the steep southeastern slope of Cadillac Mountain, much of which was burned in the 1947 fire. The project focuses on monitoring stream water chemistry and developing relationships with landscape characteristics to model atmospheric deposition of mercury (Hg), acid anions, and major cations.' 'This project offers several benefits for the park and for biogeochemical monitoring in the northeast: 1) a continuity of the data record for watershed fluxes and stremwater chemistry; 2) the opportunity to use the results of primary research and monitoring data over a larger spatial scale and to interpret data for resource management; 3) a regional context with other calibrated watersheds including the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine and as part of SPARC, an online source of information for watershed studies in National Parks; and 4) a collaboration with Weathers et al. and historical data providers to expand the Park's core stream and throughfall chemistry database.' 'The approach used for determining atmospheric deposition exposure of watershed resources is to use throughfall data collected in the small watersheds from past field campaigns in 1999-2002 as validation data for the empirical model developed by Weathers et al. for ANP (Weathers et al., manuscripts in prep.). The watershed data will also be used, where appropriate, to expand the Weathers et al. empirical model to elements other than nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) - Hg, for example. By coordinating the data collection and modeling efforts, each research group gets an opportunity to 'fill in the blanks' in the data set.' Progress report summarizes equipment installed and field sampling, early results that include stream chemistry and mass balances, throughfall deposition, litterfall, modeling, stream survey, geographic information systems (GIS), and personnel and facility changes.

FY 2004 annual progress report: Correlating predictive contaminant deposition maps with streamwater chemistry at Acadia National Park: paired-gauged watershed research at Acadia National Park

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