Bi-national assessment of the Great Lakes: SOLEC partnerships

Many administrative jurisdictions have authority over parts of the Great Lakes, sometimes with competing purposes as well as governance at differing scales of time and space. As demand increases for high quality information that is relevant to environmental managers, environmental and natural resource agencies with limited budgets must look to interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches for the collection, analysis and reporting of data. The State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conferences (SOLEC) were begun in 1994 in response to reporting requirements of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the U.S. The biennial conferences provide independent, science-based reporting on the state of health of the Great Lakes ecosystem components. A suite of indicators necessary and sufficient to assess Great Lakes ecosystem status was introduced in 1998, and assessments based on a subset of the indicators were presented in 2000. Because SOLEC is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional reporting venue, the SOLEC indicators require acceptance by a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the Great Lakes basin. The SOLEC indicators list is expected to provide the basis for government agencies and other organizations to collaborate more effectively and to allocate resources to data collection, evaluation and reporting on the state of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.     

滇南湖群环境综合治理总体规划研究

本规划采用决策支持系统 (DSS)对湖泊的水量平衡和水质现状以及采用不同措施对水质的影响进行评估 ,并通过多标准分析 (MAC)对每项措施进行优先排序 ,使规划更具科学性和可操作性。     

优势除藻菌净化富营养化城市景观湖水初探

通过实验室小试和现场投加的方式 ,研究了优势除藻菌群对城市景观富营养化湖水中污染物的净化作用。结果证明 ,采用投加优势除藻菌的方法 ,能够有效地降低湖水中的叶绿素a(Chl.-a)和浊度 ,提高水体溶解氧 ,减少臭味 ,改善水质     

湖泊水污染治理的流域生态保护对策分析

对太源、滇池、巢湖水质富营养化和流域经济结构，污染源分布。生态状况作了工介绍“三湖”流域生态保护的进展及制定“九五”行动计划等举措，高度评价了生态保护工作的重要性。     

内蒙古湖泊水资源及主要环境问题

本文从内蒙古自治区湖泊分布及成因入手，分析了内蒙古湖泊水资源现状及主要环境问题。文中剖析了内蒙古的主要典型湖泊，特别是淡水湖如：呼伦湖、乌染素海、居延海等历史及现状，提出了内蒙古湖泊环境目前的主要问题为：１、湖泊受自然环境影响极大，生态环境极度脆弱。２、湖泊水源补给量减少，湖泊萎缩甚至干涸。３、农牧业活动污染是内蒙古湖泊的污染的主要原因。４、湖泊的泥沙淤积。５、湖泊的管理薄弱。本文针对内蒙古湖泊主     

荷兰浅水湖的生态恢复实践

湖泊的富营养化导致了湖泊生态系统的失衡。要使湖泊获得生态恢复,只通过控制入湖的营养负荷是不够的。荷兰的实践证明,外部营养负荷的大量减少并没有带来预期的恢复效果,而通过湖泊的换水和生物控制,湖泊的透明度、水生植物等得到了迅速改善。根据荷兰方面提供的资料,介绍了荷兰通过换水和生物控制进行浅水湖的生态恢复实践和取得的经验。     

MODELING HYDROLOGIC IMPACT OF WITHDRAWING THE GREAT LAKES WATER FOR AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION1

ABSTRACT: Growing interest in agricultural irrigation in the Great Lakes basin presents an increasing competition to other uses of Great Lakes water. This paper, through a case study of the Mud Creek Irrigation District in the Saginaw Bay basin, Michigan, evaluates the potential hydrologic effects of withdrawing water for agricultural irrigation to the Great Lakes. Crop growth simulation models for corn, soybeans, dry beans, and the FAO Penman method were used to estimate the difference in evapotranspiration rates between irrigated and nonirrigated identical crops, based on climate, soil, and management data. The simulated results indicate that an additional 70–120 mm of water would be evapotranspirated during the growing season from irrigated crop fields as compared to nonirrigated identical plantings. Dependent upon the magnitude of irrigation expansion, an equivalent of about 1 to 5 mm of water from Lakes Huron-Michigan could be lost to the atmosphere. If agricultural irrigation further expands in the entire Great Lakes basin, the aggregated potential of water loss to the atmosphere through ET from all five Great Lakes would be even greater.     

Analysis of Lower Green Bay and Fox River,Collingwood Harbour,Spanish Harbour,and the Metro Toronto and Region remedial action plan (RAP) processes

This article presents a model of remedial action planning, which includes four key variables that determine progress in plan development and implementation and explain the differing level of achievement in individual sites. The model is illustrated by the characteristics and developments of four remedial action plan (RAP) processes (Lower Green Bay and Fox River, Collingwood Harbour, Spanish Harbour, and the Metro Toronto and Region RAPs). Differences in the local context of the plans have, to a significant degree, predisposed individual planning and implementation experiences. Local context includes three variables, namely geographical—technical and sociopolitical aspects and the previous history of water pollution management in the area. RAP precursors are a necessary precondition for progress in planning and substantive achievements. While there is a tendency that most geographically focused RAPs in administratively simple areas accomplish most, the motivation and political clout of RAP participants are strongly intervening factors. Resource input from upper levels of government, in particular financial commitment for plan implementation, is the fourth necessary ingredient for progress due to the RAPs' weak regulatory and institutional framework. Unfortunately, upper levels of government have shown widespread reluctance to lead in remedial action planning. This was only in part offset by local commitment and support for RAP and its cause.     

Study of Pollution of the Plitvice Lakes by Water and Sediment Analyses

The process of eutrophication in form of intense plant growth has been observed in some lakes and water streams at the Plitvice Lakes National Park in central Croatia. Here we investigate whether this phenomenon is a consequence of anthropogenic pollution or due to naturally produced organic matter in the lakes. We applied chemical analysis of water at two springs and four lakes (nutrients, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), trace elements) and measurements of surface lake sediments (mineral and organic fraction analyses, trace elements) in four different lakes/five sites. The chemical composition of water does not indicate recent anthropogenic pollution of water because the concentrations of most trace elements are below detection limits. The concentrations of DOC and nutrients are slightly higher in the area of increased eutrophication-plant growth. Also the content of organic matter in the sediment is at the highest level in areas with highest C/N ratio indicating that the organic fraction of this sediment is mainly of terrestrial origin. There is no significant difference among the trace element concentration in the upper segment of all cores, deposited approximately during last 50 years when higher anthropogenic influence is expected due to development and touristic activity, and the lower part of the cores, corresponding to the period approximately 100–200 years before present. The content of trace elements and organic matter in sediments decreases from the uppermost lake downstream. According to our results there is no indication of recent anthropogenic pollution in water and sediment. Higher concentrations of DOC in water as well as phosphorus and some other elements in the lake sediment can be a consequence of input of natural organic matter to the lake water.     

MODELING THE IMPACTS OF WATER LEVEL CHANGES ON A GREAT LAKES COMMUNITY1

ABSTRACT: Recent research that couples climate change scenarios based on general circulation models (GCM) with Great Lakes hydrologic models has indicated that average water levels are projected to decline in the future. This paper outlines a methodology to assess the potential impact of declining water levels on Great Lakes waterfront communities, using the Lake Huron shoreline at Goderich, Ontario, as an example. The methodology utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) to combine topographic and bathymetric datasets. A digital elevation surface is used to model projected shoreline change for 2050 using water level scenarios. An arbitrary scenario, based on a 1 m decline from February 2001 lake levels, is also modeled. By creating a series of shoreline scenarios, a range of impact and cost scenarios are generated for the Goderich Harbor and adjacent marinas. Additional harbor and marina dredging could cost as much as CDN $7.6 million. Lake freighters may experience a 30 percent loss in vessel capacity. The methodology is used to provide initial estimates of the potential impacts of climate change that can be readily updated as more robust climate change scenarios become available and is adaptable for use in other Great Lakes coastal communities.