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Episodic acidification of streams at Loch Dee, SW Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

S. J. Langan
S. J. Langan
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Imperial College of Science and Technology, Imperial College Road, London SW7 2BU, U.K.
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Abstract

Episodes of high streamwater acidity have been cited in the literature as causal in fish-kills; such episodes are often associated with acid precipitation. An investigation utilising continuous monitoring of both precipitation and streamwater for a remote upland site in SW Scotland is reported and the occurrence of two episodes of streamwater acidification is described. The apparent mechanism for these episodes is one of ion exchange in the catchment soils following precipitation inputs laden with sea-salts. The investigation indicates the potential importance of sea-salts in streamwater acidification within the British context. The data provide insights into the mechanisms of acidification from precipitation input to ftreamwater output.

Keywords

episodic aciditysea-saltsstreamwater acidification.
Type
Acidification of surface waters
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 78 , Issue 4: Hydrology in Scotland , 1987 , pp. 393 - 397
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1987

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