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Features: Jan. 28, 2002
Researchers See Signs of Recovery in
Adirondack Lakes
Over the years, acid deposition, commonly
referred to as "acid rain," has rendered dozens
of lakes in the Adirondacks uninhabitable for fish and other
wildlife. Now, researchers at Rensselaer's Darrin Fresh
Water Institute indicate that some of the most severely
affected lakes in that region are showing signs of recovery.
 "In
about half of the 30 lakes under study, an increase in the
pH has been observed, a sign that acidic levels are decreasing,"
says Darrin Fresh Water Institute Director Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer.
Levels of nitrogen influenced by nitric
oxide, a primary source of acid rain, have decreased moderately
in 18 of the 30 lakes the Darrin Fresh Water Institute has
monitored since 1994 through its federally funded Adirondack
Effects Assessment Program. There also has been an overall
reduction of sulfuric acid, another main contributor of
acid rain that comes from industry pollutants.
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"In about half of the 30 lakes
under study, an increase in the pH has been observed,
a sign that acidic levels are decreasing."
—Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer—
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The reductions may be correlated with the
1990 Clean Air Act, a federal mandate to significantly reduce
emissions that cause acidification, says Nierzwicki-Bauer.
More research is needed to pinpoint the exact reasons for
the apparent changes seen in the lakes in the southwestern
part of the Adirondack Park, an area hardest hit by acid
rain.
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