Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Does Stream Water Composition At Sleepers River In Vermont Reflect Dynamic Changes In Soils During Recovery From Acidification?, Jesse R. Armfield, Julia N. Perdrial, Alex Gagnon, Jack Ehrenkranz, Nicolas Perdrial, Malayika Cincotta, Donald Ross, James B. Shanley, Kristen L. Underwood, Peter Ryan

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Stream water pH and composition are widely used to monitor ongoing recovery from the deposition of strong anthropogenic acids in many forested headwater catchments in the northeastern United States. However, stream water composition is a function of highly complex and coupled processes, flowpaths, and variations in soil and bedrock composition. Spatial heterogeneity is especially pronounced in headwater catchments with steep topography, potentially limiting stream water composition as an indicator of changes in critical zone (CZ) dynamics during system recovery. To investigate the link between catchment characteristics, landscape position, and stream water composition we used long-term data (1991–2015) from the Sleepers …