Abstract
Determining the bathymetry of lakes is important to assess the potential and the vulnerability of this valuable resource. The dilution and circulation of nutrients or pollutants is largely dependant on the volume of water and the incoming and outgoing fluxes, while the degree and frequency of mixing depends on the water depth. The bathymetry of lakes is also important to understand the spatial distribution of sediments, which in turn are valuable archives of natural hazards and environmental change. We thus conducted a bathymetric survey of lakes Maninjau and Diatas in West Sumatra and lake Kerinci in Jambi (Indonesia) using a sonar. We found maximum water depths of 168 m, 55 m, and 105 m and minimum volumes of 9.79 km3, 0.32 km3, and 1.57 km3 for lakes Maninjau, Diatas and Kerinci respectively. Although lake Maninjau is the largest, it is vulnerable due to the low water fluxes in and out of it, and is thus currently threatened by increasing levels of cultural eutrophication. Lake Diatas is smaller but surrounded by less human settlements and is thus less impacted by related human activities. Lake Kerinci is relatively voluminous, has larger incoming and outgoing water fluxes, and doesn’t appear to be suffering greatly from surrounding human activities. Given the sizes and inlets of these lakes, Maninjau and Diatas likely have the highest potential for hosting a long-term sediment record built from low sedimentation rates.
Highlights
Lakes are valuable resources for people in a variety of ways; e.g. as freshwater for household consumption or crop irrigation, as a food resource through their natural biodiversity or the development of aquaculture [1], and as popular recreation and vacation spots given their nice scenery. Depending on their specific geographical configuration, the water in lakes comes from precipitation, melting ice, streams, and groundwater seepage
A healthy lake contains a reasonable amount of oxygen and nutrients, which enable algae to grow and in turn will feed other organisms
The bathymetry of a lake and its water inflow/outflow will control the distribution of sediments within a lake and can inform about a lake’s potential as an environmental archive
Summary
Lakes are valuable resources for people in a variety of ways; e.g. as freshwater for household consumption or crop irrigation, as a food resource through their natural biodiversity or the development of aquaculture [1], and as popular recreation and vacation spots given their nice scenery. The bathymetry of a lake and its water inflow/outflow will control the distribution of sediments within a lake and can inform about a lake’s potential as an environmental archive. Lakes Maninjau, Diatas and Kerinci are large, natural lakes in the highlands of West Sumatra and Jambi (Indonesia; Fig. 1) They were built by magmatic and/or tectonic processes and receive their water from precipitation and streams mainly [16]. These lakes lie in close proximity to active volcanoes (e.g. Marapi, Singgalang, Talang) and the active Sumatran strikeslip fault Their sediments have a high potential of recording the frequency and magnitude of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the region. We hope that this data will be useful for hydrological calculations and the careful assessment of the potential of these lakes for aquaculture and other activities
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