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Modeling of total acid precipitation impacts
The Science of the Total Environment, 44 ( 1 9 8 5 ) 3 0 1 - - 3 0 6 Elsevier S c i e n c e P u b l i s h e r s B.V., A m s t e r d a m - - P r i n t e d in T h e N e t h e r l a n d s
301
Book Reviews
Meteorological Aspects of Acid Rain, edited by C.M. Bhumralkar, 243 pp. Price: £30.00.
Deposition both Wet and Dry, edited by B.B. Hicks, 197 pp. Price: £30.00. Modeling of Total Acid Precipitation Impacts, edited by J.L. Schnoor, 222 pp. Price £30.00. Volumes 1, 4 and 9 in: Acid Precipitation Series, series editor, J.I. Teasley, Butterworth, Sevenoaks, 1984. The volumes are the result of the American Chemical Society's Las Vegas meeting, held in the spring of 1982. The nine thematic areas of the symposium included meteorology, chemistry of particles, fogs and rain, oxidation of sulfur dioxide, deposition both wet and dry, terrestrial effects, geochemistry of acid rain, economics and predictive modeling, and were published in nine volumes. Three of them will be reviewed herewith. The 13 papers in Meteorological Aspects of Acid Rain are about the role of the atmosphere as a transporter, dilutor, chemical reactor and depositor of acid rain. Examples are provided to show how the available meteorological information, such as surface wind, upper wind, hourly precipitation and temperature distribution, can be used in acid rain research in conjunction with precipitation chemistry and pH data. A discussion of the development of theoretical models of meteorological systems, such as cyclones, thunderstorms and associated clouds and rainfall, and their application in acid rain research is also presented. Deposition both Wet and Dry first provides information on sampling and survey networks in North America: the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP); a Canadian research network (not the CANSAP); and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) network. Two chapters address the special circumstances represented by coastal and arid areas. A detailed investigation describes wet deposition in cyclonic systems. The last three chapters deal with dry deposition, its sampling and collection, with the solubility of metal ions in rainwater and with mechanisms involved in photochemistry and dry deposition. Modeling of Total A cid Precipitation Impacts presents the state-of-the-art in acid precipitation modeling, from atmospheric emissions to effects on watershed and groundwater chemistry. Both Lagrangian and Eulerian methods are presented. Deterministic models to calculate the acid neutralizing capacity of lakes, soil water and groundwater are discussed. By comparing the semiempirical approach with the mechanistic detail, we realize that different 0048-9697/85/$03.30
© 1 9 8 5 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
302 models have different purposes. The choice of the model depends on the question or the hypothesis being tested and the reliability of the answer needed. All of the models employ some empirical relationships, so field data collection is an absolute requirement. Lastly, one can integrate all available information into an impact assessment, as discussed in the last chapter. To summarize the whole Acid Precipitation Symposium, a few paragraphs by J.L. Schnoor in the Preface to Volume 9 are the most adequate: "What do we know? We know that anthropogenic SO x and NOx emissions can be oxidized in the atmosphere and cause acidic deposition. There exists a correlation between sulfate deposited on a watershed and the pH of lakes. While field data may be sparse, the statistical power of that correlation is undeniable. We know that the northeastern U.S. has a sulfate deposition of 3 0 _ 4 0 k g h a - 1 y-l and a precipitation pH of 4.0--4.2. There is some evidence that lakes have become more acidic and that fish numbers have declined since the 1930s. On the other hand, lakes in north-central Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota have not changed appreciably since the 1930s. These lakes receive a sulfate deposition of 10--20 kg ha -1 y-1 and a precipitation of pH 4.6--4.85. What is lacking? Trend information. It is difficult to know where we are going if we do not know where we have been. It is exceedingly difficult to find longitudinal data sets for emissions, precipitation pH, lake pH, plankton or fish resources that are untroubled by sampling or analytical problems. However, there are numerous reports from Canada, the United States, and Scandinavia of the acidification of lakes. All the pieces of the puzzle do not necessarily fit; fish data are complicated by overfishing and fisheries management; water chemistry data are haunted by differences in analytical methods. Nothing is "clean", but the evidence, when taken in toto, is rather convincing. We are lacking quantitative source-receptor relationships. We do not have a good m e t h o d o l o g y to calculate the resources at risk, e.g. the percentage of lakes that will become acidified to a specified level at a specified loading rate. We cannot afford to protect the most sensitive lake in the ecosphere, so we must include the quantity of resources at risk in our decision making. We are lacking verification of kinetic formulations and rate constants for some of the most important processes in the "acid rain" picture. In particular, the kinetics of aqueous-phase oxidations in the atmosphere prevent us from answering the deceptively simple question, "What is the percentage reduction in hydrogen ion deposition at the receptor as a result of a twofold reduction in emissions at the source?" Similarly we lack the kinetics for some terrestrial and aquatic processes, e.g. chemical weathering, which provides a measure of homeostasis in the ecosystem as acidic deposition increases."
Bre tigny-sur-Orge (France)
Michel Benarie
301
Book Reviews
Meteorological Aspects of Acid Rain, edited by C.M. Bhumralkar, 243 pp. Price: £30.00.
Deposition both Wet and Dry, edited by B.B. Hicks, 197 pp. Price: £30.00. Modeling of Total Acid Precipitation Impacts, edited by J.L. Schnoor, 222 pp. Price £30.00. Volumes 1, 4 and 9 in: Acid Precipitation Series, series editor, J.I. Teasley, Butterworth, Sevenoaks, 1984. The volumes are the result of the American Chemical Society's Las Vegas meeting, held in the spring of 1982. The nine thematic areas of the symposium included meteorology, chemistry of particles, fogs and rain, oxidation of sulfur dioxide, deposition both wet and dry, terrestrial effects, geochemistry of acid rain, economics and predictive modeling, and were published in nine volumes. Three of them will be reviewed herewith. The 13 papers in Meteorological Aspects of Acid Rain are about the role of the atmosphere as a transporter, dilutor, chemical reactor and depositor of acid rain. Examples are provided to show how the available meteorological information, such as surface wind, upper wind, hourly precipitation and temperature distribution, can be used in acid rain research in conjunction with precipitation chemistry and pH data. A discussion of the development of theoretical models of meteorological systems, such as cyclones, thunderstorms and associated clouds and rainfall, and their application in acid rain research is also presented. Deposition both Wet and Dry first provides information on sampling and survey networks in North America: the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP); a Canadian research network (not the CANSAP); and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) network. Two chapters address the special circumstances represented by coastal and arid areas. A detailed investigation describes wet deposition in cyclonic systems. The last three chapters deal with dry deposition, its sampling and collection, with the solubility of metal ions in rainwater and with mechanisms involved in photochemistry and dry deposition. Modeling of Total A cid Precipitation Impacts presents the state-of-the-art in acid precipitation modeling, from atmospheric emissions to effects on watershed and groundwater chemistry. Both Lagrangian and Eulerian methods are presented. Deterministic models to calculate the acid neutralizing capacity of lakes, soil water and groundwater are discussed. By comparing the semiempirical approach with the mechanistic detail, we realize that different 0048-9697/85/$03.30
© 1 9 8 5 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
302 models have different purposes. The choice of the model depends on the question or the hypothesis being tested and the reliability of the answer needed. All of the models employ some empirical relationships, so field data collection is an absolute requirement. Lastly, one can integrate all available information into an impact assessment, as discussed in the last chapter. To summarize the whole Acid Precipitation Symposium, a few paragraphs by J.L. Schnoor in the Preface to Volume 9 are the most adequate: "What do we know? We know that anthropogenic SO x and NOx emissions can be oxidized in the atmosphere and cause acidic deposition. There exists a correlation between sulfate deposited on a watershed and the pH of lakes. While field data may be sparse, the statistical power of that correlation is undeniable. We know that the northeastern U.S. has a sulfate deposition of 3 0 _ 4 0 k g h a - 1 y-l and a precipitation pH of 4.0--4.2. There is some evidence that lakes have become more acidic and that fish numbers have declined since the 1930s. On the other hand, lakes in north-central Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota have not changed appreciably since the 1930s. These lakes receive a sulfate deposition of 10--20 kg ha -1 y-1 and a precipitation of pH 4.6--4.85. What is lacking? Trend information. It is difficult to know where we are going if we do not know where we have been. It is exceedingly difficult to find longitudinal data sets for emissions, precipitation pH, lake pH, plankton or fish resources that are untroubled by sampling or analytical problems. However, there are numerous reports from Canada, the United States, and Scandinavia of the acidification of lakes. All the pieces of the puzzle do not necessarily fit; fish data are complicated by overfishing and fisheries management; water chemistry data are haunted by differences in analytical methods. Nothing is "clean", but the evidence, when taken in toto, is rather convincing. We are lacking quantitative source-receptor relationships. We do not have a good m e t h o d o l o g y to calculate the resources at risk, e.g. the percentage of lakes that will become acidified to a specified level at a specified loading rate. We cannot afford to protect the most sensitive lake in the ecosphere, so we must include the quantity of resources at risk in our decision making. We are lacking verification of kinetic formulations and rate constants for some of the most important processes in the "acid rain" picture. In particular, the kinetics of aqueous-phase oxidations in the atmosphere prevent us from answering the deceptively simple question, "What is the percentage reduction in hydrogen ion deposition at the receptor as a result of a twofold reduction in emissions at the source?" Similarly we lack the kinetics for some terrestrial and aquatic processes, e.g. chemical weathering, which provides a measure of homeostasis in the ecosystem as acidic deposition increases."
Bre tigny-sur-Orge (France)
Michel Benarie