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Seasonal snowpack chemistry data from the Rocky Mountain region of the US was examined to identify long-term trends in concentration and chemical deposition in snow and in snow-water equivalent. For the period 1993?2004, comparisons of trends were made between 54 Rocky Mountain Snowpack sites and 16 National Atmospheric Deposition Program wetfall sites located nearby in the region. The region was divided into three subregions: Northern, Central, and Southern. A non-parametric correlation method known as the Regional Kendall Test was used. This technique collectively computed the slope, direction, and probability of trend for several sites at once in each of the Northern, Central, and Southern Rockies subregions....
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How much are contaminants impacting wildlife in Western U.S. National Parks?
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In the Rocky Mountains, there is uncertainty about the source areas and emission types that contribute to nitrate (NO3) deposition, which can adversely affect sensitive aquatic habitats of high-elevation watersheds. Regional patterns in NO3 deposition sources were evaluated using NO3 isotopes in five National Parks, including 37 lakes and 7 precipitation sites. Results indicate that lake NO3 ranged from detection limit to 38 μeq/L, δ18O (NO3) ranged from −5.7 to +21.3‰, and δ15N (NO3) ranged from −6.6 to +4.6‰. δ18O (NO3) in precipitation ranged from +71 to +78‰. δ15N (NO3) in precipitation and lakes overlap; however, δ15N (NO3) in precipitation is more depleted than δ15N (NO3) in lakes, ranging from −5.5 to −2.0‰....
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The small watershed approach is well-suited but underutilized in mercury research. We applied the small watershed approach to investigate total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) dynamics in streamwater at the five diverse forested headwater catchments of the US Geological Survey Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) program. At all sites, baseflow THg was generally less than 1 ng L−1 and MeHg was less than 0.2 ng L−1. THg and MeHg concentrations increased with streamflow, so export was primarily episodic. At three sites, THg and MeHg concentration and export were dominated by the particulate fraction in association with POC at high flows, with maximum THg (MeHg) concentrations of 94 (2.56) ng L−1...
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High-elevation lakes in the western United States are sensitive to atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen due to fast hydrologic flushing rates, short growing seasons, an abundance of exposed bedrock, and a lack of well-developed soils. This sensitivity is reflected in the dilute chemistry of the lakes, which was documented in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Western Lake Survey of 1985. Sixty-nine lakes in seven national parks sampled during the 1985 survey were resampled during fall 1999 to investigate possible decadal-scale changes in lake chemistry. In most lakes, SO4 concentrations were slightly lower in 1999 than in 1985, consistent with a regional decrease in precipitation SO4 concentrations...
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