Precipitation Trends and Chemistry in West Twin Creek Watershed In:Biogeochemistry of an Old-Growth Forested Watershed, Olympic National Park, Washington

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Robert L. Edmonds, Ted B. Thomas, and Roger D. Blew

Publication_Date: 199506

Title:

Precipitation Trends and Chemistry in West Twin Creek Watershed In:Biogeochemistry of an Old-Growth Forested Watershed, Olympic National Park, Washington

Series_Information:

Series_Name: Water Resources Bulletin

Issue_Identification: Vol 31, No. 3 pp. 409-419

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Urbana, Il

Publisher: American Water Resources Association

Description:

Abstract:

Human induced long-term changes in precipitation has been observed in eastern North America and Europe, but few long-term studies have been conducted in coastal western North America. The objectives of this research were to determine: (1) time trends in precipitation in a pristine old-growth forest watershed, and (2) seasonal patterns in precipitation chemistry. It was conducted in 58 ha West Twin Creek Watershed, Hoh River Valley, Olympic National Park, Washington from 1984 to 1993. Vegetation consists of old-growth forest, with western hemlock, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, Pacific silver fir, and Sitka spruce being the dominant tree species. Annual precipitation varied from 2336 to 4518 mm during the study period with the majority of the rain falling between October and May. Chemistry of precipitation was strongly dominated by oceanic influences with Na and Cl being the dominant ions. The pH of precipitation averaged 5.3 over time and ranged from 4.3 to 7.1. There were few long-term trends in the chemical constituents of bulk precipitation with the exception of a slight decrease in NO3. A trend of decreasing concentrations of Ca, Mg and Na in precipitation also occurred. There were no significant seasonal patterns in precipitation although the highest SO4 concentrations usually occurred in late spring and summer perhaps due marine algal activity.

Purpose:

The objectives of this research were to determine: (1) trends in precipitation over a 9-year period in a pristine old-growth forest watershed on the coastal Olympic Peninsula of Washington, and (2) seasonal patterns in precipitation.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 1984

Ending_Date: ongoing

Currentness_Reference: Observed

Status:

Progress: In Work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: Monthly

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

West Twin Creek watershed in the Olympic National Park, Washington

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.05

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.93

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 47.87

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 47.81

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: precipitation chemistry

Theme_Keyword: water quality

Theme_Keyword: biogeochemistry

Theme_Keyword: old-growth forest

Theme_Keyword: temperate rain forest

Theme_Keyword: long-term monitoring

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Place_Keyword: USA

Place_Keyword: Washington

Place_Keyword: Olympic Peninsula

Place_Keyword: Olympic National Park

Place_Keyword: Hoh River Valley

Place_Keyword: West Twin Creek Watershed

Stratum:

Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Temporal:

Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Access_Constraints: Must contact author for data.

Use_Constraints: Must cite author if using data in publication.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Georgia Murray

Contact_Organization: University of Washington

Contact_Position: Research Scientist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: University of Washington

Address: PO Box 352100

City: Seattle

State_or_Province: WA

Postal_Code: 98195

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (206) 543-8242

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gmurray@u.washington.edu

Security_Information:

Security_Classification_System: None

Security_Classification: None

Security_Handling_Description: None

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Robert L. Edmonds

Originator: Roger D. Blew

Originator: James L. Marra

Originator: Amy K. Barg

Originator: Georgia Murray

Originator: Ted B. Thomas

Publication_Date: In press

Title:

Vegetation Patterns, Hydrology, and Water Chemistry in Small Watersheds in the Hoh River Valley, Olympic National Park

Series_Information:

Issue_Identification: Scientific Monograph NPSD/NRUSGS/NRSM - 98/02

Publication_Information:

Publisher:

United States Department of Interior, National Park Service

Analytical_Tool:

Analytical_Tool_Description: SPSS - Statistical Software

Tool_Access_Information:

Tool_Contact:

Tool_Citation:

Data_Quality_Information:

Lineage:

Methodology:

Methodology_Type: Field

Methodology_Identifier:

Methodology_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Methodology_Keyword: precipitation collection

Methodology_Description:

Sample Collection Samples were collected biweekly from November 1984 through June of 1990 and at four-week intervals thereafter through December of 1993. Monitoring is still on-going. Bulk precipitation was collected in a clearcut on Washington State Department of Natural Resources land immediately adjacent to the Olympic National Park boundary and 1 to 2 km from the West Twin Creek watershed. Two bulk precipitation collectors were located at the sampling site. Each bulk precipitation collector consisted of a 20 cm diameter polyethylene funnel with a netted top to exclude debris. The precipitation drained from the funnel into a l-L polyethylene bag. Samples were collected in triple-rinsed l-L polyethylene bottles, transported in a cooler to the Analytical Laboratory at the College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, within 48 hours of collection and stored at 4°C. Collection volumes were determined. A National Acid Deposition Program (NADP) station is also located at the Hoh Ranger Station (Figure 1) (National Acid Deposition Program /National Trends Network, 1994). Laboratory Analytical Procedures Electrical conductivity (EC), pH and alkalinity (reported as HCO3) were determined on nonfiltered samples. EC was determined with a YSI Model 31 Conductivity Bridge (Yellow Springs Instrument Co., Yellow Springs, OH 45387) and corrected to 25°C. pH was determined with a Radiometer PHM85 pH meter (Radiometer, Copenhagen, Denmark) and alkalinity was determined by titration to an end point of pH 5 (Homann et al., 1992). Remaining sample material was filtered through Whatman GF/A filters, stored at 4°C, and analyzed within a month after arrival at the laboratory. Solutions were analyzed for Ca, Mg, K, and Na, using a IL 951 Atomic Absorption Analyzer (Instrumentation Laboratory, Wilmington, MA 01887) prior to July 1993 and by Inductively Coupled Plasma atomic emission spectrometry thereafter. Samples were analyzed by both methods for six months to be sure that a change in technique did not influence the data. Ammonium was determined with a Technicon Autoanalyzer II (Technicon, Tarrytown, NY 10591). Sulfate, Cl, N03 and P04 were determined with a Dionex 2100 Ion Chromatograph (AS4A and AG4A columns) (Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA 94088). Macro Kjeldahl digests were done on all samples having sufficient volume and those digests were analyzed for N and P (reported here as Total Kjeldahl N and P (TKN and TKP)).

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

QA /QC Procedures Field samples were collected in acid washed and triple rinsed containers, labeled, placed in coolers as soon as possible, transported to the laboratory within 48 hours of collection and stored at 4°C. Standard chemical analysis laboratory procedures were followed including use of replications, National Bureau of Standards rain water standards and blanks. Data were transferred from laboratory notebooks to computer spreadsheets and edited. Outliers were checked and data were eliminated if field notes at the time of sampling indicated any obvious problems with the sample's quality. Precipitation samples were also screened on the basis of Cl:Na ratio. Samples with Cl:Na ratios that deviated from the sea salt ratio of 1.17 by a factor of 2 were excluded. Only a few samples were excluded, however. Statistical Analyses Time trends and seasonal differences were examined using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Analysis (ARIMA) (SPSS 1994). Data were log transformed. Because of the irregular sampling schedule missing values were filled using the mean of two nearby points.

Process_Date: 1984-1990

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Georgia Murray

Contact_Organization: University of Washington

Contact_Position: Research Scientist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: University of Washington

Address: PO Box 352100

City: Seattle

State_or_Province: WA

Postal_Code: 98195

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (206) 543-8242

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gmurray@u.washington.edu

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Georgia Murray

Contact_Organization: University of Washington

Contact_Position: Research Scientist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: University of Washington

Address: PO Box 352100

City: Seattle

State_or_Province: WA

Postal_Code: 98195

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (206) 543-8242

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gmurray@u.washington.edu

Resource_Description: Excel file

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 19980911

Metadata_Review_Date: 19990909

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Olympic Natural Resources Center

Contact_Position: GIS Specialist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing address

Address: PO Box 1628

City: Forks

State_or_Province: WA

Postal_Code: 98331

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 360.374.3220 x258

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 360.374.3336

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: onrc@u.washington.edu

Hours_of_Service: M-F 8-5

Contact_Instructions: Email preferred

Metadata_Standard_Name:

Content Standards for National Biological Information Infrastructure Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version:

NBII Draft of December 1995, Based FGDC of June 8, 1994

Metadata_Access_Constraints: None

Metadata_Use_Constraints: None

Metadata_Security_Information:

Metadata_Security_Classification_System: None

Metadata_Security_Classification: Unclassified

Metadata_Security_Handling_Description: None