Abstract
We studied precipitation chemistry at the Rhode River on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. We sampled on an event basis, beginning in 1973 for some constituents in bulk precipitation. Beginning in 1981, we also sampled wet precipitation separately from bulk precipitation. In this report, we examine temporal variability of precipitation chemistry at different time scales. Several constituents showed long-term trends. In bulk precipitation, hydronium concentration increased by 27% of its mean concentration per decade, calcium by 67%, ammonium by 28%, and nitrate by 25%, while organic nitrogen decreased by 41%, organic phosphorus by 31%, and organic carbon by 16%. In wet precipitation, ammonium increased by 33% and calcium by 100%, while magnesium decreased by 78% per decade. Concentrations differed greatly among precipitation events, increasing as the volume of precipitation decreased and as the interval since the previous event increased. Most constituents also showed marked seasonal variation. We used a regression model to predict concentrations for each event from month, precipitation volume, and the time since the previous event. We evaluated how much of the interannual variability could be explained by these factors. The event-scale model accounted for almost half of the variability among annual means for ammonium, sodium, and magnesium in bulk precipitation, and for potassium in wet precipitation. This suggests that much of the interannual variability of concentrations may result from interannual variation in the temporal distribution of precipitation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA (American Public Health Association): 1976, Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 14th ed. APHA, Washington D.C.
ApSimon H. M., Kruse M. and Bell J. N. B.: 1987, Atmos. Environ. 21, 1939.
Baker L. A., Herlihy A. T., Kaufmann P. R. and Eilers J. M.: 1991, Science 252, 1151.
Berner E. K. and Berner R. A.: 1987, The Global Water Cycle, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey.
Bilonick R. A. and Nichols D. G.: 1983, Atmos. Environ. 17, 1063.
Calvert J. G., Lazarus A., Kok G. L., Heikes B. G., Walega J. G., Lind J. and Cantrell C. A.: 1985, Nature 317, 27.
Cogbill C. V.: 1976, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 6, 407.
Correll D. L. and Ford D.: 1982, Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 15, 45.
Correll D. L., Goff N. M. and Peterjohn W. T.: 1984, ‘Ion Balances Between Precipitation Inputs and Rhode River Watershed Discharges’, in O. P. Bricker (ed.), Geological Aspects of Acid Deposition, Butterworth, Stoneham, pp. 77–111.
Correll D. L., Miklas J. J., Hines A. H. and Schafer, J. J.: 1987, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 35, 63.
Eder B. K.: 1989, Atmos. Environ. 23, 27–39.
Fanning K. A.: 1989, Nature 339, 460.
Fisher D. C. and Oppenheimer M.: 1991, Ambio 20, 102.
Fowler D. and Cape J. N.: 1984, Atmos. Envimn. 9, 1859.
Freund, R. J., Littell, R. C. and Spector, P. C.: 1986, SAS System for Linear Models, SAS Institute, Inc. Cary, NC.
Galloway J. N., Likens G. E. and Hawley M. E.: 1984, Science 16, 829.
Gaudy A. F. and Ramanathan M.: 1964, J. Water Pollut. Control Fed. 36, 1479.
Hilst G. R. and Chapman E. G.: 1990, Atmos. Environ. 24A, 1889.
Hinga K. R., Keller A. A., and Oviatt C. A.: 1991, Ambio 20, 256.
Hirsch R. M., Slack J. R. and Smith R. A.: 1982, Wat. Resour. Res. 18, 107.
Husar R. B., Sullivan T. J. and Charles D. F.: 1991, ‘Historical Trends in Atmospheric Sulfur Deposition and Methods for Assessing Long-Term Trends in Surface Water Chemistry’, in D. F. Charles (ed.), Acid Deposition and Aquatic Ecosystems, Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 65–82.
Jaworski N. A., Groffman P. M., Keller A. A. and Prager J. C.: 1992, Estuaries 15, 83.
Jordan T. E., Correll D. L., Peterjohn W. T. and Weller D. E.: 1986, ‘Nutrient Flux in a Landscape: The Rhode River Watershed and Receiving Waters’, in D. L. Correll (ed.), Watershed Research Perspectives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., pp. 57–75.
Jordan T. E., Correll D. L., Miklas J. and Weller D. E.: 1991a, Limnol Oceanogr. 36, 251.
Jordan T. E., Correll D. L., Miklas J. and Weller D. E.: 1991b, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 75, 121.
Keene W. C., Pszenny A. A. P., Galloway J. N. and Hawley M. E.: 1986, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 6647.
Khwaja H. A. and Husain L.: 1990, Atmos. Environ. 24A, 1869.
King, E. J.: 1932, Biochem. J. 26, 292.
Kohout E. J., Miller D. J., Nieves L. A., Rothman D. S., Saricks C. L., Stodolsky F. and Hanson D. A.: 1990, Current Emission Trends for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, and Volatile Organic Compounds by Month and State: Methodology and Results, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois.
Likens G. E., Bormann F. H., Eaton J. S., Pierce R. S. and Johnson N. M.: 1976, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 6, 435.
Likens G. E., Bormann F. H., Pierce R. S., Eaton J. S. and Munn R. E.: 1984, Atmos. Environ. 18, 2641.
Maciolek J. A.: 1962, Limnological Organic Analyses by Quantitative Bichromate Oxidation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv. Publ., Washington D.C.
Martin D. F.: 1972, Marine Chemistry, Vol. 1, Dekker, New York.
NAPAP: 1992,1992 Report to Congress, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program.
Paerl H. W.: 1985, Nature 315, 747.
Placet M., Battye R. E., Fehsenfeld F. C. and Bassett G. W.: 1989, Emissions Involved in Acidic Deposition Processes, SOS/T Report 1, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, Washington, D.C.
Pratt G. C. and Krupa S. V.: 1983, Atmos. Environ. 17, 1845.
Riley J. P. and Chester R.: 1971, Introduction to Marine Chemistry, Academic Press, New York.
Schwartz S. E.: 1989, Science 243, 753.
Scudlark J. R. and Church T. M.: 1993, Estuaries 16, 747.
Sisterson D. L.: 1991, ‘Deposition Monitoring: Methods and Results’, in P. M. Irving (ed.), Acidic Deposition: State of Science and Technology, Summary Report of the U.S. National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, Washington D.C., pp. 65–74.
Sisterson D. L., Bowersox V. C., Olsen A. R., Meyers T. P. and Vong R. L.: 1989, Deposition Monitoring: Methods and Results, SOS/T Report 6, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, Washington, D.C.
Sprugel D. G.: 1983, Ecology 64, 209.
Timperley M. H., Vigor-Brown R. J., Kawashima M. and Ishigami M.: 1985, Can. J. FishAquat. Sci. 42, 1171.
van Belle G. and Hughes J. P.: 1984, Wat. Resour. Res. 20, 127.
Weller D. E., Peterjohn W. T., Goff N. M. and Correll D. L.: 1986, ‘Ion and Acid Budgets for a Forested Atlantic Coastal Plain Watershed and Their Implications for the Impacts of Acid Deposition’, in D. L. Correll (ed.), Watershed Research Perspectives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., pp. 392–421.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jordan, T.E., Correll, D.L., Weller, D.E. et al. Temporal variation in precipitation chemistry on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Water Air Soil Pollut 83, 263–284 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00477357
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00477357