Beaver Island volunteer reports acid-rain monitoring results, 1988

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago — Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.

Event

Date: 1988-08
Kind: Observation
Where: Beaver Island
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: environmentweatherhydrologyconservationcommunication
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

The September 1988 Beaver Beacon described Curt Petrak’s volunteer rain sampling for federal and Great Lakes atmospheric-deposition programs. The reported summer 1988 samples had pH values from 5.08 to 5.59, with a separate comparison table for regional stations.

Evidence limits

The newspaper reproduces selected readings but not the complete laboratory dataset, calibration record, or causal analysis of acidity.

Sources

Acid-rain monitoring profile, Beaver Beacon, September 1988.
Reports Curt Petrak collecting rain for the USEPA and Great Lakes Atmospheric Deposition Program, measuring pH and conductivity, and recording 1988 summer pH readings from 5.08 to 5.59 alongside historical station data. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1988-09_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, September 1988, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held twenty-two-page September issue PDF is paired with the canonical OCR source and preserves the monitoring profile.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1988-09_Beaver-Beacon
Acid Rain, Beaver Beacon, November 1988.
Reports Curt Petrak's pH readings of 4.80 on October 25, 4.55 on November 1, 4.90 on November 8, and 4.70 on November 15, characterized as more acidic than the previous month. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1988-11_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, November 1988, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held eighteen-page November issue PDF is paired with the canonical OCR source and confirms the acid-rain follow-up.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1988-11_Beaver-Beacon

Added 4 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island volunteer reports acid-rain monitoring results, 1988”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-acid-rain-monitoring-1988/, accessed [date], citing Acid-rain monitoring profile, Beaver Beacon, September 1988. (and 3 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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