The role of critical zone processes in the evolution of the Prairie Pothole Region wetlands

Product Type: Journal Article

Year: 2011

Author(s): Goldhaber, M.B., C. Mills, C.A. Stricker, and J.M. Morrison

Suggested Citation:
Goldhaber, M.B., C. Mills, C.A. Stricker, and J.M. Morrison. 2011. The role of critical zone processes in the evolution of the Prairie Pothole Region wetlands. Applied Geochemistry 26(S): S32-S35.

Abstract

The Prairie Pothole Region, which occupies 900,000 km2 of the north central USA and south central Canada, is one of the most important ecosystems in North America. It is characterized by millions of small wetlands whose chemistry is highly variable over short distances. The study involved the geochemistry of surface sediments, wetland water, and groundwater in the Cottonwood Lakes area of North Dakota, USA, whose 92 ha includes the dominant wetland hydrologic settings. The data show that oxygenated groundwater interacting with pyrite resident in a component of surficial glacial till derived from the marine Pierre Shale Formation has, over long periods of time, focused SO2 4 -bearing fluids from upland areas to topographically low areas...