Abstract
The chemistry of lakes and streams within the North Branch of the Moose River is strongly correlated with the nature and distrubution of geologic materials in the watershed. The dominance of thin glacial till and granitic gneiss bedrock in the region north and east of Big Moose Lake results in a geologically sensitive terrain that is characterized by surface water with low alkalinity and chemical compositions only slightly modified from ambient precipitation. In contrast, extensive deposits of thick glacial till and stratified drift in the lower part of the system (e.g. Moss-Cascade valley) allow for much infiltration of precipitation to the groundwater system where weathering reactions increase alkalinity and significantly alter water chemistry.
The hypothesis that surficial geology controls the chemistry of surface waters in the Adirondacks holds true for 70 percent of the Moose River watershed. Exceptions include the Windfall Pond subcatchment which is predominantly covered by thin till, yet has a high surface water alkalinity due to the presence of carbonate-bearing bedrock. The rapid reaction rates of carbonate minerals allow for complete acid neutralization to occur despite the short residence time of water moving through the system. Another important source of alkalinity in at least one of the subcatchments is sulfate reduction. This process appears to be most important in systems containing extensive peat deposits.
An analysis of only those subcatchments controlled by the thickness of surficial sediments indicates that under current atmospheric loadings watersheds containing less than 3 percent thick surficial sediments will be acidic while those with up to 12 percent will be extremely sensitive to acidification and only those with over 50 percent will have a low sensitivity.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
April, R.H. and R.M. Newton. 1984. The geology and geochemistry of the ILWAS lake-watersheds. In The Integrated Lake Watershed Acidification Study, 4: 4:1–4:20.
Colquhoun, J., W. Kretser, and M. Pfeifer. 1984 Acidity status update of lakes and streams in New york State. Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, 140 p.
Driscoll, C.T., and R.M. Newton. 1985. Chemical characteristics of Adirondack lakes. Environmental Science and Technology. 19: 1018–1024.
Driscoll, C.T., C.P. Yatsko, and F.J. Unangst. 1986. Longitudinal and temporal trends in the water chemistry of the North Branch of the Moose River. Biogeochemistry, 3: 37–61.
Folk, R.L. 1968. Petrology of sedimentary rocks. Hemphills Press, Austin, 170 p.
Goldich, S.S. 1938. A study in rock weathering. Journal of Geology 46: 17–48
Grimm, W.D. 1973. Stepwise heavy mineral weathering in the residual quartz gravel, Bavarian Molasse (Germany). Contributions to Sedimentology 1: 103–125.
Newton, R.M. and R.H. April. 1982. Surficial geologic controls on the sensitivity of two Adirondack lakes to acidification. Northeastern Environmental Science 1: 143–150.
Norrish, K. and J.T. Hutton. 1969. An accurate x-ray spectrographic method for the analysis of a wide range of geological samples. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 33: 431–453.
Presley, B.J. 1975. A simple method for determining calcium carbonate in sedimentary samples. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 45: 745–746.
Rudd, J.W.M., C.A. Kelly, V. St. Louis, R.H. Hesslein, A. Furutani, M.H.Holoka, in press. Microbial consumption of nitric and sulfuric acids in acidified north temperate lakes. Limnology and Oceanography.
Truettner, L.E. 1984. Mineral weathering and sources of alkalinity in two Adirondack lake watersheds. Masters thesis, University of Massachusetts at Amherst 147p.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Newton, R.M., Weintraub, J. & April, R. The relationship between surface water chemistry and geology in the North Branch of the Moose River. Biogeochemistry 3, 21–35 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185183
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185183