Beneath the Surface

Ecologists use new concept to survey how much air pollution local lakes can withstand

Story by Ginny Jenks

Under the surface of many Adirondack lakes and waterways lies an environmental hazard overlooked by current air pollution policies. Using a concept called "critical load," a couple of studies started in the Adirondack Park aspire to get the attention of policy makers.

Dr. Gary Lovett is the senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. He is the lead author of a new study, published in July, encouraging the use of critical load. Lovett says the concept has been used in Europe for years, but is only now being introduced to the U.S in areas like the Rocky Mountains and Adirondack Park. He defines the notion of critical load as "the amount of pollution that can be tolerated by an ecosystem without causing harm." Essentially, scientists will use chemical levels taken from lakes to create a computer-generated model, which can predict the total amounts of said chemicals the lakes and soil can tolerate. This number, the critical load, can then be given to ecosystem monitors, who can help establish limitations on emissions.

"What we need to do is to beef up monitoring programs."

At the heart of Lovett’s study, "Threats From Above: Air Pollution Impacts on Ecosystems and Biological Diversity in the Eastern United States", amid scientific phrases, lies an important message: we need to think about the impact of air pollution not just as the physical effects it has on humans, but also as the influence it has on our environment once it is no longer in the air. "What we need to do is to beef up monitoring programs," Lovett says. Some local ecologists will be applying the critical load model to lakes and streams in the Adirondacks.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will be funding and monitoring two critical load studies in the Adirondacks under way now, which are slated to continue through 2010.  Mark Watson, the program manager of environmental research at NYSERDA, will be working on these studies. He says that the results of the studies are going to show which bodies of water can recover from devastations such as acid rain. "The results will also provide critical information for determining which areas might require additional remediation efforts beyond deposition reductions."

Dr. Charles Driscoll, of Syracuse University, will also be working on the NYSERDA funded studies. Although the lakes to be tested have not yet been selected, "70 lakes in total have been proposed," Driscoll says. The lakes chosen will be representative of all the lakes in the Adirondacks and their different levels of pollution. Driscoll also says that because of the nature of the studies, public involvement will be minimal, but that annual meetings to present findings to the public will be held. In addition, the website will be updated often, and discussions with local communities are expected. "Staying tuned in to the environmental issues impacting the Adirondacks, and expressing concern to our policy makers and resource managers is essential to realizing long term ecological benefits," Driscoll says.

"This research helps to determine our own futures."

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Saranac Lake has the same aspirations as the critical load studies. Leslie Karasin, the Program Manager at the WCS, has worked on an ongoing study involving mercury levels in aquatic environments of the Adirondacks. The desired outcome of this WCS study (also funded by NYSERDA) is identical to that of the critical load studies. "Our goal has been to articulate a threshold to policy makers about the impacts of pollutants on the environment," Karasin notes. Although it’s too early to see results in the critical load studies, the founders can only hope to see changes like those Karasin has seen with the mercury study. Research from that study has contributed to new mercury standards recently adopted by New York State. Since she lives and works right in the Adirondack Park, Karasin feels a deeper-rooted connection to her work, and work such as the critical load studies. "This research helps to determine our own futures."

The future is the underlying and constant motivator for people like Lovett, Watson, and Driscoll. They hope the findings revealed by critical load will help prove that the future of our waterways is well worth preserving.

Do you think critical load will demand results from U.S policy makers?