Acidification of Northeastern USA Lakes From Rising Anthropogenic-Sourced Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Its Effects on Aluminum Speciation

Authors

Karen H. Johannesson, University of Massachusetts Boston
Jaxon Dii Horne, University of Massachusetts Boston
Anant Misra, University of Massachusetts Boston
Catherine Aliperta, University of Massachusetts Boston
Orpheus V. Meletis, University of Massachusetts Boston
Robert C. Santore, Winward Environmental
Christopher D. White, University of Massachusetts Boston
Georgia Mavrommati, University of Massachusetts Boston
David J. Burdige, Old Dominion UniversityFollow

ORCID

0000-0002-8859-7096 (Burdige)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

DOI

10.1029/2023GL104957

Publication Title

Geophysical Research Letters

Volume

50

Issue

22

Pages

e2023GL104957 (1-11)

Abstract

The impact of rising atmospheric CO₂ (pCO₂^atm) from anthropogenic activities on pH, dissolved inorganic carbon, carbonate mineral saturation, and aluminum (Al) speciation is evaluated for 18 northeastern USA lakes using polythermal, sliding activity reaction path models. pCO₂^atm was forced using two scenarios from the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report in which pCO₂^atm attains either 600 or 1,100 ppm in 2,100. Results suggest pH will decrease 0.15 and 0.32 pH units, _aCO^2-₃ will decrease 24% and 49%, and Ω_aragonite will decrease 21% and 45%, respectively. These changes are of the same magnitude as those expected for the oceans. The effects of rising pCO₂^atm on sub‐lethal 20% effect concentrations (i.e., EC20) of Al for brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are evaluated with the biotic ligand model, which indicates Al toxicity effects will increase as pH decreases. These changes could reverse gains in water quality and fisheries health achieved since implementation of the Clean Air Act.

Rights

© 2023 The Authors.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and it is not used for commercial purposes.

Data Availability

Article states: "Data employed in this study were compiled from published papers, reports, and on-line sources maintained by several northeastern states. Specifically, the data are available through Boylen et al. (2014), Hintz et al. (2020), Hollocher and Yuskaitis (1993), Solomon et al (2013), Weiler (1978), the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (2023), the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (2022), the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (2019). A summary of the model results is available via Zenodo (Johannesson, 2023a). Example scripts for simulating acidification of Lake Champlain and Lake Superior with version 14.0.01 and higher of the Geochemist's Work-bench® software package are also available at Zenodo (Johannesson, 2023b)."

Original Publication Citation

Johannesson, K. H., Horne, J. D., Misra, A., Aliperta, C., Meletis, O. V., Santore, R. C., White, C. D., Mavrommati, G., & Burdige, D. J. (2023). Acidification of northeastern USA lakes from rising anthropogenic‐sourced atmospheric carbon dioxide and its effects on aluminum speciation. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(22), 1-11, Article e2023GL104957. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104957

Repository Citation

Johannesson, Karen H.; Horne, Jaxon Dii; Misra, Anant; Aliperta, Catherine; Meletis, Orpheus V.; Santore, Robert C.; White, Christopher D.; Mavrommati, Georgia; and Burdige, David J., "Acidification of Northeastern USA Lakes From Rising Anthropogenic-Sourced Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Its Effects on Aluminum Speciation" (2023). OES Faculty Publications. 494.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_fac_pubs/494