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Natural and anthropogenic causes of lake acidification in Nova Scotia

Nature volume 324, pages 451–453 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Controversy has arisen over the recent acidification of lakes1–4, ascribed by many to anthropogenic acid deposition from the atmosphere5,6, and by some to natural processes of soil acidification enhanced by the regrowth of forests after cutting and burning7–10. Here we show, by analysing the chemistry of Nova Scotian lakes and ponds on base-poor terrains, that both anthropogenic and natural acidification can be important. We calculated correlations and regressions between hydrogen ion (H+) concentrations and each of four predictors: dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (a surrogate for complex coloured organic acids, often of high molecular weight11,12), non-marine sulphate (denoted by the prefixed asterisk as *SO42−; a surrogate for acid deposition13), non-marine calcium (*Ca2+; the major basic cation from soil weathering and ion exchange), and the sum of the other non-marine base cations sodium, magnesium and potassium (*(Na+ + Mg2+ + K+)). The results indicate that acidity in these waters is affected both by organic acids from peatland catchments and by acid deposition from long-range and local sources (see ref. 14).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA

    Eville Gorham

  2. Nova Scotia Department of Environment, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 3B7, Canada

    John K. Underwood

  3. Statistical Center, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA

    Frank B. Martini

  4. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J1, Canada

    J. Gordon Ogden III

Authors
  1. Eville Gorham
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  2. John K. Underwood
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  3. Frank B. Martini
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  4. J. Gordon Ogden III
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Gorham, E., Underwood, J., Martini, F. et al. Natural and anthropogenic causes of lake acidification in Nova Scotia. Nature 324, 451–453 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324451a0

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