Principal Investigator(s):

Doug Burns, Robert Bode, Karen Murray

Summary:

Project Update (254kb .pdf)

The Catskill Mountains in southeastern New York receive some of the highest levels of acid deposition in New York State (NYS) and the Northeast, and are especially sensitive owing to their geological and soil characteristics. The Neversink River is the most acid-sensitive watershed in the Catskill region and among the most sensitive in the State. Though levels of acidity in atmospheric deposition have been declining, the widespread recovery of streams has not yet been confirmed.

This project returns to sites in the Neversink River, upstream of the Claryville river flow gauge, sampled in 1987 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in order to evaluate changes over time in stream chemistry and species composition of aquatic macroinvertebrate, fish, and periphyton (algae) populations. The principal objective is to determine whether the spatial patterns in species composition have changed as a function of altered spatial patterns in surface water chemistry. Additionally, the project team has sampled two stream reaches in zones of sharp pH transitions.

Partners: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Downloads:

Project Update (254kb .pdf)
Final Project ( 349 kb .pdf)

Project Site(s):

Neversink River

Latitude/Longitude: (5kb .pdf)

Region(s): East Central

County(ies): Ulster, Sullivan

Sampling:

Sampled Medium(Media): stream water

Analyte(s): chloride, pH, sulfates, nitrates, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, silica, fluoride, total dissolved aluminum, dissolved organic carbon, total monomeric aluminum, organic monomeric aluminum, acid neutralizing capacity

Sampling Technolog(ies): kick method, electroshocker

Sampling Frequency:

Funding:

Total Costs: $63,552

NYSERDA Costs: $25,216

Funding Source(s): NYSERDA, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, US Geological Survey

Contract Initiated: September, 2003

Estimated Completion Date: October, 2006

Links:

Project Website: http://ny.cf.er.usgs.gov/nyprojectsearch/projects/2457-ARV-1.html

Related EMEP Projects: Myron Mitchell 4917, Dudley Raynal 6086, Doug Burns 6486_6490, Gary Lovett 6819, Greg Lawrence 7613_7717_7718, Tim Sullivan 7605, Peter Murdoch 8644_8739

Related Link(s): http://ny.water.usgs.gov

Contact:

Doug Burns US Geological Survey Watersheds Research Section 425 Jordan Road Troy, New York 12180 PH: (518) 285-5662 Fax: (518) 285-5601 Email: daburns@usgs.gov
Robert Bode New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 425 Jordan Road Troy, New York 12180 PH: (518) 285-5682 Email: rwbode@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Karen Murray US Geological Survey Watersheds Research Section 425 Jordan Road Troy, New York 12180 PH: (518) 285-5617 Email: krmurray@usgs.gov