LAKE EUTROPHICATION–A NATURAL PROCESS1

Lake eutrophication is an economic, recreational, and aesthetic problem that affects every lake of the world. Eutrophication is the natural process of lake aging, and progresses irrespective of man's activities. Pollution, however, can hasten the natural rate of aging and shorten the life expectancy of a body of water. The eutrophication of a lake consists of the gradual progression from one life stage to another based on the degree of nourishment or productivity. The extinction of a lake is attributed to enrichment by nutritive materials, biological productivity, decay, and sedimentation. Presently used methods for retarding eutrophication are the abatement of cultural enrichment, treatment of eutrophic symptoms, and control of fundamental causes.     

THE USE OF A SIMPLE MODEL AND UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS IN LAKE MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: A simple, black-box lake model was developed for phosphorus, using nonlinear regression analysis on a data base of north temperate lakes. The uncertainty associated with the model was then combined with the parameter uncertainty and the independent variable uncertainty to provide an estimate of the confidence limits associated with a predicted value. The prediction uncertainty is often neglected, yet it is an important measure of the usefulness of a model. Prediction uncertainty reflects the modeler's confidence in the model, and it should be used by a decision maker as a weight indicating the value of the model prediction. A procedure is outlined that combined lake modeling and uncertainty analysis for use in lake quality assessment and lake management. An example is provided illustrating the use of this procedure in nutrient budget sampling design, data analysis, and the evaluation of lake management strategies for a 208 program in New Hampshire.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF ALUM IN A WEEDY,SHALLOW LAKE1

ABSTRACT: An alum treatment in Long Lake (mean depth, 2 m) in 1980 has been effective at controlling internal loading of phosphorus for four years. The fifth summer after treatment, the lake returned to its pro-treatment state. Lake P content decreased from a summer average of 65 μg/L during 1976–1978 to about 30 μg/L during four years following treatment. In 1985, summer P content was 61 μg/L. Algal abundance, species composition, and transparency have responded proportionately with P. Alum effectiveness apparently declined because the floe layer tended to sink and become dispersed at a deeper level in the sediment, as well as become covered with new, P-rich sediment. Iron-reduction may be the principal mechanism for internal P loading, although the lake is unstratified and anoxia is usually not pronounced.     

ESTIMATING BASEFLOW VOLUME AND ITS UNCERTAINTY1

ABSTRACT: By using the exponential baseflow recession equation it is possible to estimate from a single discharge measurement the total volume of stream discharge during a baseflow period. If the discharge measurement is properly centered in the baseflow period the resulting estimate will be fairly precise, even if the baseflow recession coefficient is not known. Furthermore, based on an assumed probability distribution of the baseflow coefficient it is possible to estimate the uncertainty of the baseflow volume estimate. Estimates of baseflow volume and their uncertainty are potentially useful for estimating water budgets of lakes.     

ASPECTS OF THE UNDERWATER LIGHT FIELD OF EIGHT CENTRAL NEW YORK LAKES1

ABSTRACT: The underwater light field of eight central New York lakes, which represent a wide range of trophic state, was characterized through paired measurements of Sechi disc transparency (SD, m) and diffuse light attenuation (K_d, m^?1). A total of 90 paired measurements are included in the data base. Substantial variability in the K_d SD product with time within individual systems, and amongst systems, was observed, which indicates differences in the relative contributions of absorption and scattering to attenuation. More than 50 percent of the temporal variability in K_d was attributable to attendant variations in chlorophyll a (C, mg m^?3) in only two of the lakes. Estimates of the adsorption (a, m^?1) and scattering (b, m^?1) coefficients based on paired K_d and SD measurements compared well with more precise determinations available for one of the lakes. Determinations of a and b for the eight lakes, from SD and K_d measurements, indicated great system-specificity and temporal variability in these characteristics. The temporal variability in relative contributions of a and b to K_d is consistent with covariation of different attenuating components and the lack of correlation between C and K_d in most of the study lakes.     

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOFTWATER FLORIDA LAKES AND THEIR SENSITIVITY TO ACID PRECIPITATION1

ABSTRACT: Based on alkalinity data for 596 lakes, 31 percent of Florida's 7300 lakes have < 100 μeq/l alkalinity and are sensitive to acid depostion. More than two-thirds of the lakes in 12 northern Florida counties fit this criterion. Increasing aluminum and decreasing nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations were observed with decressing pH in a survery of 20 softwater lakes. Maximum measured aluminum values (100-150 μg/L) are below levels asociated with fish toxicity. Factor analysis showed that lake chemistry was related to three principal factors, representing three major processes: watershed weathering, acidification, and nutrient inputs. An acidification index defined as the difference between excess SO₄^2- and excess (Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺) accounted for 74 percent of the variance in lake pH. Comparison of historical (late 1950a) and present data for pH, alkalinity, and excess SO₄^2- indicated loss of alkalinity (>25 μeq/L) and increase in excess SO₄^2- (16-34 μeq/L) in several softwater lakes.     

A MODEL FOR PREDICTING LAKE SEDIMENT OXYGEN DEMAND FOLLOWING HYPOLIMNTETIC AERATION1

ABSTRACT: Hypolimnetic aeration is a widely used technique for lake restoration and fisheries enhancement. However, system design still depends on application of “safety factors” to observed oxygen demand rates, in large part because actual oxygen demand may be greater after aeration than before. Laboratory incubations of sediment show that sediment oxygen demand (SOD) rates follow mixed order kinetics, with an initial period of zero order reaction, followed by first order kinetics. The transition from zero to first order kinetics may correspond to the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. This suggests that SOD reaction kinetics are governed by thickness of the diffusive sublayer adjacent to the sediments. Therefore, zero and first order reaction regions correspond with oxygen diffusion limitation and substrate limitation, respectively. Such a mechanism would account for the induced oxygen demand observed following hypolimnetic aeration and would reconcile differences in SOD reaction orders noted in the literature. This paper describes development of equations based on laboratory SOD incubations for predicting induced oxygen demand following hypolimnetic aeration.     

聚积蓝藻不同打捞强度下藻源污染物释放特征研究

通过室内培养(35℃、6000 lx)模拟夏季环境条件下湖湾带高密度(~1.3×10~(11)cells·L~(-1))蓝藻聚积.实验设置了未打捞组及3种打捞强度组,分别为低、中和高强度组,其对藻密度的去除率可分别达到60.57%±0.09%、88.49%±0.52%和94.23%±0.00%,并以湖水组(Lw)作对照,研究了聚积蓝藻在不同打捞强度下的藻源污染物释放特征.结果表明:蓝藻聚积36 h内是打捞的“窗口期”,在此期间打捞效果最佳,而后蓝藻死亡、叶绿素a(chl.a)下降.蓝藻聚积过程中,氨氮(NH_4~+)和磷酸盐(PO_4~(3-))分别为溶解性氮磷(DTN、DTP)的主要形态.氮磷营养盐和藻源有机物(AOM)均在窗口期后5 d或8 d内快速释放,而后降低并进入内源循环.因此,窗口期后5 d内为打捞的“有效期”,在此期间应增加打捞频率及强度确保对污染物的控制效果.不同打捞强度下藻源污染物的释放特征差异显著,低强度打捞未能遏制蓝藻死亡降解,而中、高强度打捞解除了蓝藻生长密度制约,延缓藻细胞死亡,减缓藻源污染物的释放.打捞强度越大,藻源污染物释放速率越低,对污染物的控制效果越明显.当达到中强度打捞时,AOM的释放得到基本控制,因此,中强度打捞是控制水体AOM的必要强度.     

Control concept and countermeasures for shallow lakes'eutrophication in China

Research on lake eutrophication in China began in the early 1970s, and many lakes in China are now known to be in meso-eutrophic status. Lake eutrophication has been showing a rapidly increasing trend since 2000. Investigations show that the main reasons for lake eutrophication include a fragile lake background environment, excessive nutrient loading into lakes, excessive human activities, ecological degeneration, weak environmental protection awareness, and lax lake management. Major mechanisms resulting from lake eutrophication include nutrient recycling imbalance, major changes in water chemistry (pH, oxygen, and carbon), lake ecosystem imbalance, and algal prevalence in lakes. Some concepts for controlling eutrophication should be persistently proposed, including lake catchment control, combination of pollutant source control with ecological restoration, protection of three important aspects (terrestrial ecology, lake coast zone, and submerged plant), and combination of lake management with regulation. Measures to control lake eutrophication should include pollution source control (i.e., optimize industrial structural adjustments in the lake catchment, reduce nitrogen and phosphorus emission amounts, and control endogenous pollution) and lake ecological restoration (i.e. establish a zone-lake buffer region and lakeside zone, protect regional vegetation, utilize hydrophytes in renovation technology); countermeasures for lake management should include implementing water quality management, identifying environmental and lake water goals, legislating and formulating laws and regulations to protect lakes, strengthening publicity and the education of people, increasing public awareness through participation in systems and mechanic innovations, establishing lake region management institutions, and ensuring implementation of governance and management measures.     

洞庭湖生态环境承载力分析

洞庭湖湖内冬枯水季节，有芦苇面积530km^2，草地面积800余km^2，泥滩地面积367km^2，天然水域面积约993km^2。湖洲之间隔水相望，河沟水系纵横交错，具“水浸皆湖，水落为洲”的地貌特征，呈现出支离破碎的形态面貌和典型的自然湿地景观。文章在大量调查的基础上，从自然和人文两个方面对洞庭湖的生态环境承载力或环境压力进行分析。