Lakes in Killarney Park near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, have shown dramatic water quality changes including general increases in pH and alkalinity, and decreases in SO2−4, base cations and metals. While some lakes have recovered to pH > 6.0, many are still highly acidic despite decades of improvement. Very high historical S deposition related to emissions from the Sudbury metal smelters dominated the acidification process in this region. However, since the implementation of substantial S emission controls (90%) at the smelters, the Sudbury emissions are no longer the major source of S deposition in the Sudbury area. Wet deposition of SO2−4 and SO2−4 concentrations in lakewaters at Killarney now approach values in the Dorset, Ontario, area, about 200 km from Sudbury. This suggests that the S deposition to the Killarney area is now primarily from long-range transport, not from local sources. Studies of Killarney lakes are revealing the complex nature of the chemical recovery process. As lake acidity decreases, other changes including decreased Ca2 concentrations, increased transparency, and altered thermal regimes may potentially affect some of these ecosystems. It is clear that continuing assessments of the recovery of Killarney lakes, within a multiple-stressor framework, are needed.
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1 May 2003
Decreased Acid Deposition and the Chemical Recovery of Killarney, Ontario, Lakes
Wendel (Bill) Keller,
Jocelyne H. Heneberry,
Sushil S. Dixit
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AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
Vol. 32 • No. 3
May 2003
Vol. 32 • No. 3
May 2003
