Percent of Total Annual Precipitation sampled since 1980 at the Cedar Lane Atmospheric Deposition Station. |
Year |
Total Precipitation (inches) |
Total Sampled Precipitation |
Percent of Precipitation Sampled |
1980 |
34.48 |
13.41 |
38.9* |
1981 |
34.83 |
34.08 |
97.8 |
1982 |
23.66 |
20.94 |
88.5 |
1983 |
60.67 |
54.92 |
90.5 |
1984 |
44.54 |
32.94 |
74.0 |
1985 through 1991 - gap in collection record |
1992 |
44.30 |
42.30 |
95.5 |
1993 |
39.88 |
27.95 |
70.1 |
1994 |
42.54 |
35.99 |
84.6 |
1995 |
29.61 |
16.70 |
56.4 |
1996 |
44.66 |
16.97 |
38.0 |
1997 |
33.69 |
20.08 |
59.6 |
1998 |
37.71 |
27.42 |
72.7 |
1999 |
34.79 |
31.83 |
91.5 |
2000 |
46.39 |
44.61 |
96.2 |
2001 |
29.27 |
27.63 |
94.4 |
2002 |
44.50 |
43.72 |
98.2 |
2003 |
50.34 |
48.95 |
97.2 |
2004 |
41.17 |
41.18 |
100.0 |
2005 |
50.81 |
50.83 |
100.0 |
2006 |
53.66 |
52.23 |
97.3 |
2007 |
40.68 |
39.33 |
96.7 |
2008 |
54.01 |
47.81 |
88.5 |
2009 |
41.41 |
40.23 |
97.2 |
* not enough precipitation collected; no calculations |
The Cedar Lane Atmospheric Deposition Station was established in 1980 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the south end of Lake George, NY, within the Adirondack Park. At that time, support for the station was provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The atmospheric data were used in conjunction with the 1980-1982 Lake George Urban Runoff Study which was part of the Nationwide Urban Runoff Program, and evaluated the effects of storm-water runoff on the water quality of a recreational lake.
 The site was non-operational from 1985 through 1991. In 1991, the station was re-established by the Department of Environmental Conservation with financial support provided by the Lake George Park Commission. The station has had a continuous 20-year record since that time. Station operation has been conducted according to NADP/NTN standards, with the exception of event-based wetfall sampling for the analysis of anions, cations and plant nutrients following individual precipitation events of ~0.10 inches or more of wetfall. The NADP/NTN Program collects samples on a weekly basis. Since1992, the proportion of total annual precipitation chemically analyzed at the Cedar Lane Station has exceeded 80 percent for 16 of the 20 years.
 The high proportion of the total annual precipitation that has been sampled and the event-based sampling of the deposition has allowed a determination of volume-weighted concentrations and loading estimates for analytes that are important in the nutrient-based dynamics of the Lake George Basin. These data are particularly useful when evaluating and interpreting stormwater runoff from developed and un-developed areas within the Lake George Basin. Since 1992, volume-weighted concentrations and annual loadings (g/m2/yr) of total phosphorus (TP), total soluble phosphorus (TSP), nitrate (NO3), and sulfate (SO4) in wetfall have decreased, while the pH concentration measured in wetfall has increased by a significant amount during the same period. Some examples of results and trends from the Atmospheric Deposition station are presented here.
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DFWI Research
