Sudbury Area Reference Lakes Water Quality

Water chemistry data with geographic coordinates from lakes primarily in the Sudbury area of Ontario since 1981. Several lakes spread throughout the Sudbury acid rain damage zone had a natural buffering capacity protecting them from experiencing a severe drop in lake pH. Twenty-two of these lakes were selected to act as a local non-acidified reference set, for intermittent monitoring of baseline conditions in the region. Water chemistry sampling included several key monitoring components, including: * Acidity: pH, alkalinity, sulphate * Nutrients * Colour, clarity and organic matter * Metals and other ions