Snowmelt acidic shock study in South Central Ontario

A study of the potential for snowmelt acidic shock, the sudden release in late winter or early spring of acidic melt waters from the winter snowpack to lakes and rivers, was conducted in south central Ontario. In the first part of the study, a snowmelt acidic shock model capable of generating time series of snowmelt rate, snowpack and melt water chemistry was developed, on the basis of the U.S. National Weather Service River Forecast System's HYDRO-17 conceptual snowmelt algorithm. The model incorporated routines to deal with acid concentrations in the snowpack and melt waters. In the second part of the study, a data collection exercise was conducted to develop and verify the model, using specially-constructed snowmelt lysimeters.