Shown below are (i) studies that focus on the Acadia Research Catchments, (ii) studies with a broader geographic focus that also include some sampling sites within these research catchments.

Click here to view information sources for the entire Acadia National Park area.

Studies funded by PRIMENet and/or NRPP

PRIMENet
Park Research and Intensive Monitoring of Ecosystems Network. A joint EPA/NPS system of UV-monitoring stations and long-term watershed research sites located in US national parks. At Acadia , PRIMENet research included a paired watershed study, Inferring regional paterns and responses in N and Hg biogeochemistry using two sets of gauged paired watersheds (PI – J.S. Kahl). Two upland watersheds at Acadia NP, USA (44° 20’ N latitude; 68° 15’ E longitude) were instrumented in 1998 to provide a long-term foundation for ecological and watershed research at Acadia NP, representative of coastal ecosystems of the Gulf of Maine. The study used the natural landscape contrasts provided by a 1947 fire to compare patterns and processes in nitrogen and mercury sequestration and mobility, and acidification processes. The approach used input/output measurements at the watershed scale to define the unknowns of acidic deposition inputs to landscapes as a function of factors such as aspect and forest canopy characteristics. There were several project components:

Paleoecological assessment of watershed history in PRIMENet watersheds at Acadia National Park, USA
PI – M. Schauffler
Sediment cores taken from small, wet hollows in the paired watersheds were studied to determine stand-scale forest histories in the two watersheds. Results of the pollen analysis showed that Hadlock watershed was undisturbed for several centuries, and Cadillac watershed had mostly burned in the 1947 fire.

Forest vegetation monitoring and foliar chemistry of red spruce and red maple at Acadia National Park in Maine
PI – G.B. Wiersma
During 1999, 30 vegetation plots (7.32 m radius) were set up in each study watershed (Cadillac and Hadlock). At each plot or subplot, crown condition, damage and mortality were recorded for trees and saplings. In addition, red maple leaves and red spruce needles were collected, dried, and non-volatile nutrients and total nitrogen were determined.

Acadia Paired Research Watersheds: Monthly Mean Chemistry
PI – J.S. Kahl
Streamwater was collected and analyzed for major ions, total mercury, and methylmercury on a regular schedule and during high-flow events. Streams were gauged by the U.S. Geological Survey, providing flow data to calculate watershed fluxes.

Acadia Paired Research Watersheds - Transects
PI – J.S.Kahl
On several occasions, sites upstream of each watershed’s gauge site were sampled to begin to determine whether immediate landscape characteristics drive streamwater chemistry. Sites stretched to the summits of Cadillac and Sargent Mountains.

Cycling and speciation of mercury in soils at Cadillac Brook and Hadlock Brook watersheds, Acadia National Park, Maine (Adobe Acrobat document)
PI – A. Amirbahman; M.S. Thesis - P.L. Ruck
Mercury and methylmercury cycling were studied in the soils of a Cadillac and Hadlock watedsheds. Soil pH was significantly higher in all horizons of Cadillac soils than in Hadlock soils. Total Hg concentrations were higher in the 0 horizon of Hadlock soils than in Cadillac soils, most likely as a result of the fire. Soil MeHg concentrations were higher in Cadillac than in Hadlock, also most likely as a result of the fire.

Throughfall - Acadia Paired Research Watersheds; additional funding from USGS-BRD
PIs – J.S.Kahl and T.A. Haines; M.S. Theses: S.J. Nelson and K.B. Johnson
Throughfall inputs of mercury and major ions to the watersheds were measured from August to late November in 1999 and from May to late November in 2000 and 2001, using funnel-bottle type collectors.

The throughfall effort produced two major products:

1. Fire and its effects on mercury and methylmercury dynamics for two watersheds in Acadia National Park, Maine (Adobe Acrobat document)
   PI – K.B. Johnson
   Precipitation, litterfall, and streamwater samples were collected for two gauged watersheds at Acadia National Park , Maine , during the period between 17 November 1999 and 16 November 2000 , to determine which landscape factors affected mercury deposition and export. Mercury and methylmercury deposition and export were quantified in order to develop budgets for each watershed.
   
2. Determining atmospheric deposition inputs to two small watersheds at Acadia National Park (Adobe Acrobat document)
   PI – S.J. Nelson
   Throughfall concentration of major ions and precipitation were measured at 77 sites during 1999-2001. Landscape factors were quantified for each site. Vegetation type was the dominant control on enhancement of major ions in precipitation across the watersheds.

Correlating predictive contaminant deposition maps with streamwater chemistry at Acadia National Park
PI – J.S. Kahl
This project continued the long-term monitoring at the PRIMENet watersheds. Stream chemistry, discharge, and throughfall were measured through 2005. The project also included a survey of Acadia National Park streams for mercury and major ions. Using the 1999-2001 throughfall data, we modeled atmospheric deposition in the paired watersheds and compared to the results of Weathers et al. park-wide deposition model. The project had several components:

1. Throughfall - Acadia Paired Research Watersheds (Also funded by Canon National Parks Science Scholars program)
   PI – S.J. Nelson
   Both rain and snow throughfall were measured at a subset of the original PRIMENet throughfall sites during 2004-2005. Major ion and mercury throughfall data were used to model deposition in the Park and to understand mercury processing in the terrestrial environment.
   
2. Acadia Paired Research Watersheds: Monthly Mean Chemistry
   PI – J.S. Kahl
   At the two upland watersheds at Acadia NP, USA (44° 20’ N latitude; 68° 15’ E longitude), instrumented in 1998, the project continued streamwater chemistry monitoring through 2005. Sampling will continue after 2005 as funding allows.
   
3. Vegetative and Landscape Influences on Forest Litter Mercury at Acadia National Park
   PI – J.S. Kahl, I. Fernandez; M.S. Thesis - K.Sheehan
   Litterfall was collected at 39 sampling sites in the paired watersheds in 2003 and 2004 and analyzed for total mercury. Two digestion techniques were evaluated for total mercury analysis. Landscape characteristics were significantly correlated with litter.

Additional studies

Acadia Stream Chemistry: Mercury Study
PI - J. Peckenham
Fall and spring streamwater samples were analyzed for total mercury and major ions from 47 locations on Mount Desert Island in Maine . Samples were collected in zones that were burned in a major wildfire in 1947 and in zones that were not burned. Significant statistical associations were noted between mercury and the amount of wetlands in the drainage systems and with streamwater dissolved organic carbon.

Hadlock Watershed Episodic Acidification Study: 1989-91
PI - J.S. Kahl; M.S. Thesis: R. Heath
Hadlock watershed was instrumented and streamwater data were collected in 1988-1990 at Acadia National Park and compared to data from the same sites in 1982-1984. The data were also evaluated to determine mechanisms of episodic acidification. Major episodic acidifications have been observed on numerous occasions in first- and second-order streams at Acadia National Park.

Acadia Stream Chemistry: 1980s Baseline Data and Assessment
PI – J.S. Kahl
The aquatic chemistries of 23 first- and second-order streams in Acadia National Park were studied during 1982- 1984 to ascertain chemical status and to estimate potential impacts of acidic deposition. The sensitivity of Acadia National Park surface waters is indicated by low alkalinities, and by high mean calcite saturation indices. Based on both parameters and on data from other surveys, these waters are more sensitive than the New England regional norm.

Atmospheric deposition in mountainous terrain: scaling up to the landscape (Acrobat document)
PI – K. Weathers
This project measured indices of total deposition to the landscapes of Acadia and Great Smoky Moutnains National Park and constructed a general linear model relating the deposition index to landscape variables. Preliminary deposition maps show high spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of hotspots (highs) and coldspots (lows) of deposition across the park landscape.

Hydrologic data collected in small watersheds on Mount Desert Island, Maine 1999-2000 (Adobe Acrobat document)
PI – M. Nielsen
The US Geological Survey, in cooperation with Acadia National Park , began collecting data for two projects related to nutrient loading to coastal estuaries on Mount Desert Island in 1999. Streamflow data from 16 sites and chemical concentration data from 14 sites in 13 small watersheds on the island were collected from January 1999 to September 2000. Continuous streamflow data from April 1, 1999 to September 30, 2000 exist for three gauges.

A rough survey of stream salamander distribution and abundance, 1999 Acadia National Park, Maine (Adobe Acrobat document)
PI – C.S. Loftin; M.S. Thesis - R. Chalmers
The four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) is listed as Special Concern in Maine and 11 additional states and provinces, Threatened in Illinois, and Endangered in Indiana. Little is known of H. scutatum ecology despite the species' extensive range. This project sampled 92 wetlands, and found H. scutatum nests in 35 of the wetlands.

Mercury Bioaccumulation and Habitat Relations of Lotic and Lentic Amphibians from Acadia National Park, Maine, USA (Adobe Acrobat document)
PI – C.S. Loftin; PhD Dissertation - M. Bank
The objective of this investigation was to study mercury bioaccumulation and habitat use in lotic and lentic amphibians at Acadia National Park . Methylmercury (at Acadia only) and total mercury were analyzed in larval northern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata bislineata) collected from streams in Acadia , Bear Brook Watershed, Maine , and Shenandoah National Park , Virginia . At Acadia , mercury concentrations in salamander larvae were significantly higher from streams in unburned watersheds in contrast with samples collected from streams located in watersheds burned by the 1947 Bar Harbor fire.