Soil Acidity in the Adirondacks

[--M.]

Good Morning,

Freshly back from a couple of weeks in the High Peaks with the family, I have a question:

Is the acidity in the Adirondacks worsening or improving?

Back story: I wanted to learn a little about fly fishing, and so hired one of Fran Betters' guides for the day (big plug, well worth it!). I observed to him while on the Au Sable that the water looked much browner than it does in the Whites. He agreed and postulated two reasons:
==different geology: less limestone in the ADKs, and
==more acidity, both from rain and from evergreens (not otherwise counteracted by limestoney soil).

He replied that many ADK rivers, aside from stocking, are essentially dead to trout. There may be holdovers, but there's negligible spawning. He also mentioned a state program that was experimenting with using helicopters to dump lime directly into high mountain ponds in an effort to restart spawning.

Is it me, or does the water in the Swift, Pemi and Saco look a little less brown? Is acid rain worse in the ADKs? Is it getting worse or better? Is acid rain in general as much a problem as, say, 20 years ago? My perception was that the Clean Air Act had done a lot to reduce acid rain. Is this true?

Separately, the kids bagged their first 4000-footer (Cascade) and I enjoyed a tremendous hike up Algonquin, where "Mountain Stewards" agreeably pointed out many nearby peaks and the differences between sedges, grasses and tubers. We also drove up Whiteface (and liked it!) and over Jay Mountain, due to pushing too far on a dirt road not accurately marked in the DeLorme map book (don't go there without 4wd!). Good times, good times.

--M.

 

[Mattl]

There is actually no limestone in the Whites. The reason behind the clearness is the actual souce of these rivers and streams. The reason the adirondack streams look brown is not because they are dirty, it's more that they come from bogs and ponds that are rich in organisms and have the tee color. In terms of acidity, The adirondacks are closer to the mid west and get the worst brunt of the pollution that causes acid rain. The whites get the air cleaned somewhat by the time they come across NY and VT. The whites still have acidity problems but it is nothing like in NY. There are hundreds of ponds in the adirondacks that are sterile without life. pH's that are in the low 5 or even 4's. It is however getting better slightly with more regulations in place...well there were. -Mattl

 

[eddie]

I thought that the brownish tint of the water came from the iron content of the Adirondack rock.

Willie, what do you know about this?

 

[Willie]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, eddie.

Although I can articulate a hypothesis regarding the structural evolution of the curvature in the Appalachians in south-central Pennsylvania through palinspastic reconstruction, I am unable to provide much insight into the water color issue.

All I can say is that two very common causes of colored water is iron and decaying organic matter (the ADKs have both). Organic matter usually causes the water to be more tea-colored. Iron usually causes the water to be more yellow or red (i.e. rust). When we hike by Ore Bed Brook in a couple of weeks, I'll point out the pretty colors on the rocks in the brook. I wonder where the name Ore Bed Brook came from?

 

[Neil]

Brown water = tannins, also found in tea and grapes lending stringency to the flavours. IIRC tannins are found in many plant cell walls and are used as a chemical defense mechanism against pests.

Hemlock bark is 4% tannin which is why there are hardly any left in the ADK's.

Willie?

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I thought that the brownish tint of the water came from the iron content of the Adirondack rock.

On the Elk Lake trail to Dix, a bit before reaching Slide Brook, you'll see a couple of streams that are RED from iron. It looks nothing like the tannin coloring that is what causes the brown most everywhere else.

Taste it, and you can confirm it. The tannin flavor makes it through many filters, and clogs others. The tannin taste is unmistakable.

 

[--M.]

So do I read from this that the situation is improving over the last ten years? It's distressing to think of those rivers as sterile. On a brighter note, I pulled more than a dozen smallies out of that stream (and then put them back), and that species is more tolerant of these conditions. Who knows, maybe things are getting better?

Thanks all for the good info.

--Mike.

 

[Nessmuk]

So do I read from this that the situation is improving over the last ten years? It's distressing to think of those rivers as sterile. On a brighter note, I pulled more than a dozen smallies out of that stream (and then put them back), and that species is more tolerant of these conditions. Who knows, maybe things are getting better?

I wouldn't say things are necessarily getting any better, but on the other hand indications are they may not be getting any worse either. There are a few strains of brookies that DEC fish biologists believe are more acid tolerant than others - they try to protect and study these in their natural habitat. Every once in a while deep in the backcountry I'll run across a small lake with no fishing warning signs posted around it... these contain unique strains that we should not mess with.

There are a few other experimental lakes that are limed. The Army uses helicopters out of Ft Drum (when the Commander agrees to it - but that is another whole story) to drop bags of lime on the ice so it gradually dissolves and is less of a chemical shock. I have seen strange globs of white goo in the shallows of these lakes, and thought it must have been a flock of geese with a gastrointestinal problem until I realized what it really was. If you hit it right the fishing in these lakes (where allowed) can be quite good.

 

[eddie]

I just love hiking with all of you scientists

 

[Neil]

Is the acidity in the Adirondacks worsening or improving?

Back story: I wanted to learn a little about fly fishing, and so hired one of Fran Betters' guides for the day (big plug, well worth it!). I observed to him while on the Au Sable that the water looked much browner than it does in the Whites. He agreed and postulated two reasons:
==different geology: less limestone in the ADKs, and
==more acidity, both from rain and from evergreens (not otherwise counteracted by limestoney soil).

Here is some info culled from The Adirondack Atlas by Jerry Jenkins and Andy Keal which was copyrighted in 2004 so relatively up to date.

The coal burning plants of the mid-west have been the important producers of sulfer dixide and nitrogen oxide. The hardest hit area in the US is the western slopes of the ADK's with precipitation reaching as low as a pH of 4.3.

The clean air act helped reduce sulfates which were the main target but now it is realized that nitrates are about as bad.

The rocks in the High Peaks do a good job of neutralizing acid precipitation as do some of the soils. As a result the Northeast ADK watersheds have supposedly not suffered from acid rain.

The rocks in the western ADK park are poor neutralizers and the effects are much more important, especially as the western ADK's receive more acid precipitation. Just to make things worse the low pH results in increased release of mercury and aluminum into the environment. Loons are loaded with mercury. In the western regions lakes are acidified and the forests are not regenerating.

About trees and acidification: (this info is from "Forests and Trees of the ADK High Peaks Region" written by the guy who initiated the summit steward and native plant regrowth program - Dr. Ketchledge)

People have actually studied the fossil records in the muck that has accumulated over thousands of years at the bottoms of bodies of water such as Heart Lake, Lake Arnold and others. They can infer the pH of the surrounding watersheds based on the fossil remains of different species of microscopic organisms that thrived at different pH's. They also correlate the various organism's presence with the pollen and other identifiable debris that is found at similar levels. As a result they have determined the order in which different tree species have come and gone throughout the regions as the planet has warmed over the past 12,000 years and infer how each forest type has influenced acidity. Since the glaciers' retreat Heart Lake's pH has fluctuated between 7.0 to 5.5 depending on whether hardwoods or conifirs inhabited the watershed. Isn't that a nifty thing to know?

 

[DougPaul]

The rocks in the western ADK park are poor neutralizers and the effects are much more important, especially as the western ADK's receive more acid precipitation. Just to make things worse the low pH results in increased release of mercury and aluminum into the environment. Loons are loaded with mercury.

A couple of years ago, my brother (a wildlife biologist) found a dead loon in Jabe Pond (just west of Lake George). He retrieved the body and passed it on to the appropriate state authorities for testing. High levels of lead and mercury were found. The lead was the killer...

Doug

 

[--M.]

Thanks, everyone, good stuff.

While we ate the requisite catch, I hit that quota quickly at one, mostly 'cause I just don't dig thanking a well-fought fish by cutting off it's head! Nonetheless, here's to hoping things improve, both for nature's own sake as well as for my pleasure.

By the way, we did the walk-through at Au Sable's "High Falls Gorge." I enjoyed the mini geology lesson, recalling three components: Gray Anorthosite, Pink Granite and some kind of basalt. You could see all three right at the site. My wife, however, had a hard time paying cash money for seeing natural sights. I decided to just fork it over and focus on the way-cool falls. I drew the line at "Santa's Workshop."