Continuous precipitation and stream chemistry data, Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study, 1963 – present.

The Hubbard Brook Watershed Stream and Precipitation Chemistry Record
is a dataset of chemical concentration data for precipitation and
streamwater samples that have been collected weekly since the summer
of 1963 from streams and precipitation gauges throughout the Hubbard
Brook Experimental Forest, a research forest in the White Mountains of
New Hampshire. HBWatER currently collects weekly samples from nine
gauged watersheds, the mainstem of the Hubbard Brook into which each
small stream drains, and two long-term precipitation collection sites.
HBWatER was begun in the 1960's by Gene E. Likens, F. Herbert Bormann,
Robert S. Pierce, and Noye M. Johnson who began collecting and
analyzing stream and precipitation (rain and snow). They had a simple
idea, that by comparing watershed inputs in rain and snow to watershed
outputs from streams, they could measure the behavior of entire
ecosystems in response to atmospheric pollution or forestry practices.
Stream and precipitation samples have been collected every week from
1963 to the present day. Insights gained from studying this long-term
chemical record led to the discovery of acid rain in North America and
have documented the effectiveness of federal clean air legislation in
reducing coalfired power plant emissions.

The collection and analysis of HBWatER samples is currently sustained
by Tammy Wooster (Cary IES) and Jeff Merriam (USFS) and the dataset is
curated and maintained by a team of researchers: Emma Rosi (Cary IES),
Emily Bernhardt (Duke), Lindsey Rustad (USFS), John Campbell (USFS),
Bill McDowell (UNH), Charley Driscoll (Syracuse U.), Mark Green (Case
Western), and Scott Bailey (USFS). Current Financial Support for
HBWatER is provided by NSF LTREB # 1907683 and the USDA Forest Service
Northern Research Station.

These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study
(HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook
Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA
Forest Service, Northern Research Station.