Acidic lakes/ponds/water

Ideally, lakes and streams have a pH between 6 and 8. However, according to the National Surface Water Survey (NSWS) conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency between 1984 and 1986, the most acidic lake in the country, Little Echo Pond in Franklin, New York, had a pH of 4.2. According to the same survey, the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey also has a very high percentage of acidic rivers. More than 90% of the streams in that area are considered acidic. This is very bad news for the fish that live in these lakes and streams. 

The environmental effects of acid deposition that have been most thoroughly studied are probably those on lakes, ponds, and other bodies of fresh water. When acid and oxides of sulfur and nitrogen are added to such bodies of water, the pH of the lake or pond tends... 

Chlorophenoxy acid herbicides are also widely used to control broadleaf weeds and grass plants. Several immunoassays have been reported for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T).246 247 Several immunosensors have been described using a transducing principle similar to the RIANA system already described in this chapter. Thus, Meusel et al.248 reported the use of monoclonal antibodies in a sensor chip to analyze river and lake water samples, obtaining detection limits of 0.1 ig L 1. Moreover, monoclonal antibodies, produced by Cuong et al.,249 were used in a dipstick immunoassay format to analyze pond water samples. When applied to the 2,4-D compound, this semiquantitative method yielded for an IC50 of 6 ug I. and an LOD of 0.5 pg L-1. 

Habitat Larvae are found in ponds, lakes, gravel pits. Canals and slow-moving rivers. They can also tolerate brackish water in coastal ditches, but are not found in the acidic heathland ponds in which the Common Hawker thrives. 

In 1968, reports from Sweden, subsequently confirmed in other industrial countries, noted that shallow lakes with low concentrations of divalent cations were becoming more acidic with consequent decreases in aquatic plants and animals. In severely affected lakes and ponds, only acidophilic algae survived. Increased acidity and the runoff of solubilized aluminum and other metal ions from surrounding watersheds are now known to be primarily responsible for formation of these almost sterile bodies of water. 

The pK of Ca2+aq (204), 12.6 at zero ionic strength, rising to over 13 as ionic strength increases, means that concentrations of CaOH+aq will be negligible in body fluids (lpolluted waters, and under all conditions of biological relevance, from the very low pHs of 0.5 (Thiobacillus thiooxidans) to 1.5 at which bacteria used for oxidative metal extraction operate (205), through acid soils and acid rain (pH 3 to 6), streams, rivers, and oceans (pH 6 to 8), soda lakes (pH 10), up to the pHs of 11 or more in Jamaican Red Mud slurry ponds (206) (cf. Section II.C.l below). 

Acid rain is the major cause of acidity in open-air lakes and ponds (see p. 237). Various natural oxides such as CO2 dissolve in water... 

Figure 10. Temporal patterns in lake-water N03, acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC), base cations (Ca + + Mg2+ + Na+ + K+), S042, and inorganic monomeric aluminum (Al ) at Constable Pond, a long-term monitoring site in the Adirondack Mountains. Trend lines are shown for variables with significant trends (p < 0.10 in seasonal Kendall tau test). Seasonal pattern is typical of Adirondack lakes, with seasonal minima in ANC coincident with seasonal maxima in NOf and Ah. Many Adirondack lakes exhibited upward trends in N03 in the 1980s the primary increase was in episodic N03 concentrations.

Fresh-water fish have disappeared from many lakes and fish-ponds in Scandinavia and Canada, causing serious economic loss. The first to disappear, due to their greater susceptibility, are the salmonids. So, for example, in the south of Norway where there is high acid precipitation whereas the neutralizing action of the soil is poor, about half of the lakes have lost their trout population. In an area of 13,000 km almost all the lakes have lost their fish. In another further area of 20,000 km the number of fish has been drastically reduced and they will soon disappear altogether. Between Telemark and Lista there are 14... 

Alunite-jarosite minerals (and the other secondary sulfates) form, in part, because of evaporative concentration of pore and capillary waters in pyritic materials, and also at depth in saturated tailings (Dubrovsky et al. 1985). They are found in soils beneath acid sulfate evaporation ponds (Peterson et al. 1983), and are also precipitated directly from acid mine waters (cf. Filipek et al. 1987 Alpers et al. 1989). The alunite-jarosite mineral group also occurs in the weathered zones on top of metal sulhde deposits (Scott 1987) and in the sediments of acid hypersaline lakes (Alpers et al. 1992). 

Acid rain has resulted in the widespread acidification of lakes and forests around the world. The areas most sensitive to acid rain are those without limestone deposits, such as the Adirondack region of New York State. The effect of acid rain is species-specific many species cannot adapt to lowered pH environments. Most fish species, for example, cannot survive in water with pH levels below 5.0. A detailed survey of 1469 Adirondack lakes and ponds in the mid-1980s showed that 352 lakes or ponds had pH values of 5.0 or less. In 346 of the identified lakes and ponds, no fish were found (Jenkins 2005). 

The extent of the problems with acid rain can be seen in dead (fishless) ponds and lakes, dying or dead forests, and crumbling buildings. For the most part, dead lakes are still picturesque, but no fish can live in the acidified water. Lake trout and yellow perch die at pH values below 5.0, and smaU-mouth bass die at pH values below 6.0. Mussels die when the pH is below 6.5. 

Toxicology Irritating to eyes, skin TSCA listed Environmental Do not discharge into lakes, streams, ponds, or public waters Precaution Combustible incompat. with strong acids, strong bases, materials that react with terpene alcohols prolonged/excessive heat and/or exposure to air may cause decomp, or oxidation of the material Hazardous Decomp. Prods. CO, CO2, acrid fumes... 

In the environment, the acidity, or pH, of rain, water, and soil can have significant effects. When rain becomes too acidic, it can dissolve marble statues and accelerate the corrosion of metals. In lakes and ponds, the acidity of water can affect the ability of plants and fish to survive. The acidity of soil around plants affects their growth. If the soil pH is too acidic or too basic, the roots of the plant cannot take up some nutrients. Most plants thrive in soil with a nearly neutral pH, although certain plants, such as orchids, camellias, and blueberries, require a more acidic soil. 

Precaution Wear Impervious gloves, chemical goggles incompat. with strong acids do not contaminate water supplies, lakes, streams, ponds Hazardous Decomp. Prods. CO, COj underfire conditions NFPA Health 1, Flammability 2, Reactivity 0 Foamer AD [Harcros]... 

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