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Seasonal Trends of Aluminum Chemistry in a Second-Order Massachusetts Stream

Department of Civil Engineering, 220 Hinds Hall, Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, NY 13244-1190.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

An investigation of streamwater chemistry was conducted to evaluate seasonal and spatial variations of Al in an acid-sensitive watershed. Monthly grab samples were collected from three stream sites along the West Wachusett Brook, MA, and analyzed for all major solutes from March 1985 to January 1986. Total monomeric Al concentrations were greatest during high runoff periods with values as high as 22 and 11 µM in upland and wetland runoff, respectively. Survey results also illustrated the importance of ionic solute concentrations to the mobility and transport of Al. The mountain stream showed that basic cation dilution was an important factor contributing to greater Al transport during high flow periods. In contrast, organic acids in the wetland stream served as a mobile anion, and thus greatly affected Al transport by complexation and charge balance effects. Solubility with an aluminum hydroxide mineral phase did not appear to be a controlling factor of streamwater Al concentrations throughout the year. Results from a chemical equilibrium model showed the mountain stream to be potentially toxic to fish during high-flow periods, whereas the wetland stream, being dominated by organo-Al complexes, had a minimal potential for toxicological effects.