Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Twenty-year inter-annual trends and seasonal variations in precipitation and stream water chemistry at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mean annual concentration of \({\textrm{SO}}_{4}^{2-}\) in wet-only deposition has decreased between 1988 and 2006 at the paired watershed study at Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA (BBWM) due to substantially decreased emissions of SO2. Emissions of NOx have not changed substantially, but deposition has declined slightly at BBWM. Base cations, \({\textrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}\), and Cl −  concentrations were largely unchanged, with small irregular changes of <1 μeq L − 1 per year from 1988 to 2006. Precipitation chemistry, hydrology, vegetation, and temperature drive seasonal stream chemistry. Low flow periods were typical in June–October, with relatively greater contributions of deeper flow solutions with higher pH; higher concentrations of acid-neutralizing capacity, Si, and non-marine Na; and low concentrations of inorganic Al. High flow periods during November–May were typically dominated by solutions following shallow flow paths, which were characterized by lower pH and higher Al and DOC concentrations. Biological activity strongly controlled \({\textrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}\) and K + . They were depressed during the growing season and elevated in the fall. Since 1987, East Bear Brook (EB), the reference stream, has been slowly responding to reduced but still elevated acid deposition. Calcium and Mg have declined fairly steadily and faster than \({\textrm{SO}}_{4}^{2-}\), with consequent acidification (lower pH and higher inorganic Al). Eighteen years of experimental treatment with (NH4)2SO4 enhanced acidification of West Bear Brook’s (WB) watershed. Despite the manipulation, \({\textrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}\) concentration remained below detection limits at WB, while leaching of \({\textrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}\) increased. The seasonal pattern for \({\textrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}\) concentrations in WB, however, remained similar to EB. Mean monthly concentrations of \({\textrm{SO}}_{4}^{2-}\) have increased in WB since 1989, initially only during periods of high flow, but gradually also during base flow. Increases in mean monthly concentrations of Ca2 + , Mg2 + , and K +  due to the manipulation occurred from 1989 until about 1995, during the depletion of base cations in shallow flow paths in WB. Progressive depletion of Ca and Mg at greater soil depth occurred, causing stream concentrations to decline to pre-manipulation values. Mean monthly Si concentrations did not change in EB or WB, suggesting that the manipulation had no effect on mineral weathering rates. DOC concentrations in both streams did not exhibit inter- or intra-annual trends.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aber, J. D., McDowell, W. H., Nadelhoffer, K. J., Magill, A., Bernston, G., Kamakea, M., et al. (1998). Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems: Hypotheses revisited. BioScience, 48, 921–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asman, W. A. H., Sutton, M. A., & Schjorring, J. K. (1998). Ammonia: Emission, atmospheric transport and deposition. New Phytologist, 139, 27–48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beier, C., Gundersen, P., & Rasmussen, L. (1992). A new method for estimation of dry deposition of particles based on throughfall measurements in a forest edge. Atmospheric Environment, 26(9), 1553–1559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernhardt, E. S., Likens, G. E., Buso, D. C., & Driscoll, C. T. (2003). Instream uptake dampens effects of major forest disturbance on watershed nitrogen export. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America, 100(18), 10304–10308.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, T. J., Likens, G. E., Vermeylen, F. M., & Stunder, B. J. B. (2003). The relation between NOx emissions and precipitation NO\(_{3}^{-}\) in the eastern USA. Atmospheric Environment, 37, 2093–2104.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. L., Hornbeck, J. W., Mitchell, M. J., Adams, M. B., Castro, M. S., Driscoll, C. T., et al. (2004). Input–output budgets of inorganic nitrogen for 24 forest watersheds in the northeastern United States: A review. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 151, 373–396.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H., & Beschta, R. (1999). Dynamic hydrologic simulation of the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 55, 53–96.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • David, M., Vance, G., & Kahl, J. (1999). Chemistry of dissolved organic carbon at Bear Brook Watershed, Maine: Stream water response to (NH4)2SO4 additions. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 55, 149–163.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dittman, J. A., Driscoll, C. T., Groffman, P. M., & Fahey, T. J. (2007). Dynamics of nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Ecology, 88(5), 1153–1166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, C. T., Lawrence, G. B., Bulger, A. J., Butler, T. J., Cronan, C. S., Eagar, C., et al. (2001). Acidic deposition in the Northeastern United States: Sources and inputs, ecosystem effects, and management strategies. BioScience, 51, 180–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckhoff, J. D., & Wiersma, G. B. (2002). Baseline data for long-term forest vegetation monitoring at Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (202 pp.). Orono: Tech Bull 180, Maine Agricultural and Forest Exp. Station.

  • EPA (2002). National emissions inventory (NEI), emissions factor inventory group, office of air quality planning and standards. Research Triangle Park: US EPA.

  • Fernandez, I. J., Adams, M. B., SanClements, M. D., & Norton, S. A. (2010). Comparing decadal responses of whole-watershed manipulations at the Bear Brook and Fernow experiments. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1524-2.

  • Fernandez, I. J., Karem, J. E., Norton, S. A., & Rustad, L. E. (2007). Temperature, soil moisture, and streamflow at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM). Technical Bulletin 196 (26 pp.). Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, University of Maine.

  • Fernandez, I. J., Rustad, L. E., David, M., Nadelhoffer, K., & Mitchell, M. (1999). Mineral soil and solution responses to experimental N and S enrichment at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 55, 165–185.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, I. J., Rustad, L. E., Norton, S. A., Kahl, J. S., & Cosby, B. J. (2003). Experimental acidification causes soil base cation depletion in a New England forested watershed. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 67, 1909–1919.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, I. J., Son, Y., Kraske, C. R., Rustad, L. E., & David, M. B. (1993). Soil carbon dioxide characteristics under different forest types and after harvest. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 57, 1115–1121.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goodale, C. L., Aber, J. D., & Vitousek, P. M. (2003). An unexpected nitrate decline in New Hampshire streams. Ecosystems, 6(1), 75–86.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goss, H. V., & Norton, S. A. (2008). Contrasting chemical response to artificial acidification of three acid-sensitive streams in Maine, USA. Science of the Total Environment, 404(2–3), 245–252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, B., & Nielsen, K. E. (1998). Comparison of acidic deposition to semi-natural ecosystems in Denmark—coastal heath, inland heath and oak wood. Atmospheric Environment, 32, 1075–1086.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, R. M., Slack, J. R., & Smith, R. A. (1982). Techniques of trend analysis for monthly water quality data. Water Resources Research, 18, 107–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hruška, J., & Krám, P. (2003). Modelling long-term changes in stream water and soil chemistry in catchments with contrasting vulnerability to acidification (Lysina and Pluhuv Bor, Czech Republic). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 5, 519–528.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, T. G. (2005). Assessment of calcium status in Maine forests: Review and future projection. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 35(5), 1109–1121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huntress, D. W. (2008). Chemical dynamics during high discharge events at three forested catchments in Eastern Maine, USA. M.Sc. thesis, University of Maine.

  • Inamdar, S. P., Christopher, S. F., & Mitchell, M. J. (2004). Export mechanisms for dissolved organic carbon and nitrate during summer storm events in a glaciated forested catchment in New York, USA. Hydrological Processes, 18, 2651–2661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahl, J. S., Norton, S. A., Fernandez, I. J., Nadelhoffer, K. J., Driscoll, C. T., & Aber, J. D. (1993). Experimental inducement of nitrogen saturation at the watershed scale. Environmental Science and Technology, 27, 585–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahl, J. S., Stoddard, J., Haeuber, R., Paulsen, S., Birnbaum, R., Deviney, F., et al. (2004). Response of surface water chemistry to changes in acidic deposition: Implications for future amendments to Clean Air Act. Environment Science and Technology, 38, 484A–490A.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., et al. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of American Meteorological Society, 77, 437–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J.-S., Jain, S., & Norton, S. A. (2010). Streamflow variability and hydroclimate change at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM), USA. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1525-1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laird, M. K. (2006). Spatial and temporal changes in stream chemistry at three watersheds during high discharge episodes. M.S. thesis, University of Maine.

  • Laudon, H. & Norton, S.A. (2010). Drivers and evolution of episodic acidification at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1526-0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehmann, C. M., Bowersox, V. C., & Larson, S. M. (2005). Spatial and temporal trends of precipitation chemistry in the United States, 1985–2002. Environmental Pollution, 135, 347–361.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Libiseller, C. (2006). MULTMK/PARTMK, a program for the computation of multivariate and partial Mann–Kendall test. http://www2.ekon.slu.se/claudia/Manual.pdf. Accessed 9 March 2009.

  • Libiseller, C., & Grimvall, A. (2002). Performance of partial Mann–Kendall test for trend detection in the presence of covariates. Environmetrics, 13, 71–84.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G. E., Driscoll, C. T., Buso, D. C., Siccama, T. G., Johnson, C. E., Lovett, G. M., et al. (1994). The biogeochemistry of potassium at Hubbard Brook. Biogeochemistry, 25, 61–125.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G. E., Driscoll, C. T., Buso, D. C., Siccama, T. G., Johnson, C. E., Lovett, G. M., et al. (1998). The biogeochemistry of calcium at Hubbard Brook. Biogeochemistry, 41, 89–173.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J. A., & Kerchner, M. (2005). The national atmospheric deposition program: 25 years of monitoring in support of science and policy and an ammonium workshop: State of science and future needs. Environmental Pollution, 135(3), 343–346.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. W., Driscoll, C. T., & Fahey, T. J. (2000). Change in streamwater chemistry after 20 years from forested watersheds in New Hampshire, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 30, 1206–1213.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, C. F., Norton, S. A., Fernandez, I. J. & Katz, L. E. (1999). Deconstruction of the chemical effects of road salt on stream water chemistry. Journal of Environmental Quality, 28, 82–91.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Monteith, D. T., Stoddard, J. L., Evans, C. D., de Wit, H. A., Forsius, M., Høgasen, T., et al. (2007). Dissolved organic carbon trends resulting from changes in atmospheric deposition chemistry. Nature, 450, 537–540.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NADP (2009). National atmospheric deposition program. Isopleth Maps at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/NTN/maps.aspx. Accessed 9 March 2009.

  • Navrátil, T., Rohovec, J., Amirbahman, A., Norton, S., & Fernandez, I. (2009). Amorphous aluminum hydroxide control on sulfate and phosphate in sediment–solution systems. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 201 (1–4), 87–98.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, S. J. (2007). Winter contribution to annual throughfall inputs of mercury and tracer ions at Acadia National Park, Maine. Orono, ME; Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maine.

  • NOAA (2002). National oceanic and atmospheric administration. Requirements for global precipitation data. Workshop report. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

  • Nodvin, S. C., Driscoll, C. T., & Likens, G. E. (1986). The effect of pH on sulfate adsorption by a forest soil. Soil Science, 142, 69–75.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S. A., & Fernandez, I. J. (1999). The bear brook watershed in Maine. Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 55, 250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S. A., & Kahl, J. S. (2000). Impacts of marine aerosols on surface water chemistry at Bear Brook Watershed, Maine USA. International Society of Limnology, 27, 1280–1284.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S. A., Cosby, B. J., Fernandez, I. J., & Kahl, J. S. (2001). Long-term and seasonal variations in CO2: Linkages to catchment alkalinity generation. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 5(1), 83–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S. A., Handley, M. J., Kahl, J. S., & Peters, N. E. (1996). Re-evaluation of colorimetric Cl data from natural waters with high DOC. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 91, 283–298.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S., Kahl, J., Fernandez, I., Haines, T., Rustad, L., Nodvin, S., et al. (1999). The Bear Brook Watershed, Maine U.S.A. (BBWM). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 55, 7–51.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oulehle, F., McDowell, W. H., Aitkenhead-Peterson, J. A., Kram, P., Hruška, J., Navrátil, T., et al. (2008). Long-term trends in stream nitrate concentrations and losses across watersheds undergoing recovery from acidification in the Czech Republic. Ecosystems, 11, 410–425.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Postek, K., Driscoll, C., Kahl, J., & Norton, S. (1995). Changes in the concentrations and speciation of aluminum in response to an experimental addition of ammonium sulfate to the Bear Brook Watershed, Maine, U.S.A. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 85, 1733–1738.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt, R. L., Norton, S. A., Handley, M., & Amirbahman, A. (2004). Dynamics of P, Al, and Fe during high discharge episodic acidification at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine U.S.A. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Focus, 4, 311–323.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, B., Renshaw, M., Sparks, T. H., Crane, S., Hughes, S., et al. (1997). Trends and seasonality in stream water chemistry in two moorland catchments of the Upper River Wye, Plynlimon. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 1, 571–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosfjord, C. H., Webster, K. E., Kahl, J. S., Norton, S. A., Fernandez, I. J., et al. (2007). Alteration of base cation biogeochemistry by widespread increases in chloride in northeastern U.S. lakes. Environment Science and Technology, 41, 7688–7693.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, S., Norton, S., Fernandez, I., & Kahl, J. (1999). Linkages of P and Al export at high discharge at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 55, 133–147.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rustad, L. E., Kahl, J. S., Norton, S. A., & Fernandez, I. J. (1994). Underestimation of dry deposition by throughfall in mixed northern hardwood forests. Journal of Hydrology, 162(3–4), 319–336.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schott, J., Berner, R. A., & Sjöberg, E. L. (1981). Mechanism of pyroxene and amphibole weathering—I. Experimental studies of iron-free minerals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 45, 2123–2135.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, J. B., Simpson, H. J., Griffin, K. L., & Schuster, W. S. F. (2007). Precipitation chloride at West Point, NY: Seasonal patterns and possible contributions from non-seawater sources. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 2240–2254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soulsby, C., Malcolm, R., Gibbins, C., & Dilks, C. (2001). Seasonality, water quality trends and biological responses in four streams in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 5(3), 433–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swoboda-Colberg, N. G., & Drever, J. I. (1993). Mineral dissolution rates in plot-scale field and laboratory experiments. Chemical Geology, 105, 51–69.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Uddameri, V., Norton, S. A., Kahl, J. S., & Scofield, J. P. (1995). Randomized intervention analysis of the response of the West Bear Watershed, Maine to chemical manipulation. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 79, 131–146.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology, v.v.i., ASCR, Rozvojová 269, Prague 6, 165 00, Czech Republic

    Tomas Navrátil

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469-5790, USA

    Stephen A. Norton

  3. Department of Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469-5722, USA

    Ivan J. Fernandez

  4. Senator George Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469-5711, USA

    Sarah J. Nelson

Authors
  1. Tomas Navrátil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephen A. Norton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ivan J. Fernandez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sarah J. Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tomas Navrátil.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Navrátil, T., Norton, S.A., Fernandez, I.J. et al. Twenty-year inter-annual trends and seasonal variations in precipitation and stream water chemistry at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA. Environ Monit Assess 171, 23–45 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1527-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1527-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation