Thread: Natural Buffers in Georgian Bay's soil protecting from acid

I was wondering if anyone knew some natural buffers found in the soil of Georgian Bay protecting the region from acid precipitation? I'm having a hard time researching this and i was wondering if anyone could help me out. It doesn't have to be detailed (unless you feel compelled to), if you could simply just name some that would be sufficient for me, i can then research it and make the connections. thanks

This passage
Mineral weathering and element mobility—hence bioavailability, are both affected by water acidity (pH). To assess the potential effects of acid rain on soils, the composition and origins of surficial sediments between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River Valley were determined (Kettles and Shilts 1994). The area is underlain by two distinct bedrock terrains: the Precambrian Shield and Paleozoic sedimentary rock. Carbonate minerals, which can buffer acid loading in water and surficial deposits that result from acidified rain, are associated with Paleozoic sedimentary rock. In contrast, soils derived from Shield bedrock can be metal-rich, including zinc, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium; where weathering is enhanced by acid loading, they can be released to surface and ground water. Together, geological and geochemical maps can be used to estimate potential soil acidification and trace element mobilization by relating areas enriched in trace elements to carbonate mineral concentrations. The greatest risk for trace metal mobilization in surface water and groundwater exists in areas of low carbonate concentration and high trace element concentrations.
came from here: http://www.nwri.ca/threatsfull/ch14-1-e.html
which I located using this google search
"georgian bay" soil "acid rain" buffer
which generated this url
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hs=oF...G=Search&meta=
which contained more than one hundred other hits, some of which may prove useful.

thank you very much for trying to help me i'm finding this extremely hard to research for. i understand that limestone, or i've been told that limestone is the most important buffer found in the soil but i dont exactly know why. is it similar to the information you gathered for me...i need help..usually i'm pretty good with science but the lack resources make this very difficult.thanks