Temporal variations in solute concentrations of meltwater and forest floor leachate at a forested site in the Adirondacks, New York

Fractionation of solutes from the melting snowpack produced the highest solute concentrations in meltwater at the onset of melting and was followed by a progressive decrease in concentrations. Sulfate was eluted preferentially from the snowpack during the major melt in February. Concentrations of sodium, chloride, and sulfate in the first meltwater sample collected for the major melt in February were 5.5 to 9 times greater than those in the snowpack, and were comparable throughout the melt to those of the corresponding forest floor leachate. However, hydrogen, potassium, ammonium, and nitrate were enriched in the meltwater as it passed through the forest floor: for February and March, enrichment of these constituents in leachate averaged 2.1, 4.9, 3.4, and 2.6, respectively. -from Authors