Date of Completion
2024
Thesis Type
College of Arts and Science Honors, Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis
Department
Geography and Geosciences
First Advisor
Julia Perdrial
Keywords
Recovery, Complexation, Cation Exchange, Dissolved Organic Carbon, Nutrient Dynamics, Fate and Transport
Abstract
Shifts in acid deposition in the Northeastern United States have impacted forest soils in many watersheds with important trickle-down effects such as altered water quality in streams and rivers that are coupled and complex. For my research, my main question was “How do the characteristics of solution (acidity and ionic strength) impact soil geochemical reactions and the ensuing release of solutes (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, and major anions and cation species) from soils?” To address this question, I took advantage of archived samples, completed additional analyses, and integrated these new data into an existing dataset of soil leachate derived from intact soil core experiments. I then used these data for geochemical modelling to explore the various soil processes that could be occurring and changing in relation to acid deposition like ion exchange, aggregate breakup, and complexation and incorporated my observation into and updated conceptual model for soil processes.
Recommended Citation
Bloom, Elliott Jaye, "Using soil cores to assess the role of ion exchange in soils impacted by acid deposition: a case study from Sleepers River Research Watershed, Danville Vermont" (2024). UVM College of Arts and Sciences College Honors Theses. 146.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/castheses/146