Diatoms as indicators of the rate of lake acidification

Autecological studies of diatoms as pH indicators have opened the way to estimating a lake's past pH on the basis of its diatom species composition and relative abundance. Estimating the rate of lake acidification from its sediment diatoms is possible when these subfossils can be identified and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 1984, Vol.21 (1/4), p.375-386
Main Authors: Dickman, M, Dixit, S, Fortescue, J, Barlow, B, Terasmae, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacillariophyceae
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
lakes
Marine and continental quaternary
ponds
Surficial geology
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Summary:Autecological studies of diatoms as pH indicators have opened the way to estimating a lake's past pH on the basis of its diatom species composition and relative abundance. Estimating the rate of lake acidification from its sediment diatoms is possible when these subfossils can be identified and accurately enumerated in the surface sediments of 20 to 30 lakes. Once this is done the diatoms down the length of the sediment core of one or more of these lakes can be enumerated and the pH inferred at each depth. This technique holds considerable promise in assessing the temporal impact of acid precipitation for acid-sensitive lakes. When log alpha values were regressed against observed pH for 28 lakes located north of Lake Superior, a significant correlation resulted. Downcore diatom stratigraphy for one of these lakes indicated that its pH had dropped from 6.2 to 5.2 over the last 20 yr while a second lake had dropped from a pH of 7.1 to 5.2 over the last 30 yr.
ISSN:0049-6979
1573-2932
DOI:10.1007/BF00163637