Will hypolimnetic waters become anoxic in all deep tropical lakes?

Takehiko Fukushima,Luki Subehi,Hendro Wibowo,Bunkei Matsushita,Fajar Setiawan

doi:10.1038/srep45320

Takehiko Fukushima, Luki Subehi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45320

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Abstract

To elucidate trends of hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations, vertical distributions of dissolved oxygen were measured in eight deep tropical bodies of water (one natural lake with two basins, five natural lakes, and one reservoir) in Indonesia. A comparison of those concentrations with previously reported data revealed that shoaling of hypolimnetic oxygen-deficient (around a few decimeters to a few meter per year) water had occurred in all of the lakes. Calculated areal hypolimnetic oxygen depletion rates were 0.046–5.9 g m−2 y−1. The oligomictic or meromictic characteristics of the bodies of water suppressed circulation and mixing in the hypolimnions and thus resulted in continuous shoaling of the uppermost oxygen-deficient layers. In some lakes, millions of fish sometimes died suddenly, probably owing to upward movement of oxygen-deficient water to near the surface during periods of strong winds. In the future, the rate of shoaling will be accelerated by human impacts in the basins and by climate warming, the influence of which has already been manifested by rising water temperatures in these lakes. Appropriate monitoring and discussions of future restoration challenges are urgently needed to prevent the hypolimnions of the lakes from becoming completely anoxic.

Highlights

To elucidate trends of hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations, vertical distributions of dissolved oxygen were measured in eight deep tropical bodies of water in Indonesia
The rate of shoaling will be accelerated by human impacts in the basins and by climate warming, the influence of which has already been manifested by rising water temperatures in these lakes
Dozens of studies have indicated that climate warming accelerates deep-water hypoxia in temperate and subtropical lakes[5,6,7,8]

Summary

Introduction

To elucidate trends of hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations, vertical distributions of dissolved oxygen were measured in eight deep tropical bodies of water (one natural lake with two basins, five natural lakes, and one reservoir) in Indonesia. A comparison of those concentrations with previously reported data revealed that shoaling of hypolimnetic oxygen-deficient (around a few decimeters to a few meter per year) water had occurred in all of the lakes. The rate of shoaling will be accelerated by human impacts in the basins and by climate warming, the influence of which has already been manifested by rising water temperatures in these lakes. The German Limnological Sunda-Expedition of 1928–1929 reported the vertical distributions of lake water quality (e.g., water temperature, pH, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen and phosphorus) of 15 Indonesian lakes (eight lakes in Java, five lakes in Sumatra, and two lakes in Bali)[13].

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