Hypoxia In Lakes Research Articles

Vertical water age and water renewal in a large riverine reservoir

Water quality and hypoxia in lakes and reservoirs are strongly associated with water renewal. Yet vertical water exchange is still not fully understood and challenging to evaluate in highly dynamic systems. Here, we applied a scaling approach using the vertical timescale, vertical water age (VWA), defined as time since a water parcel last touched the water surface. We established a 3D hydrodynamic-based age model to quantify the vertical water renewal in Xiangxi Bay, a tributary bay of the Three Gorges Dam. The integrated effects of hydrodynamic processes like stratification, intruding density currents from the mainstream, and upstream inflow on the vertical renewal were accounted for. Results indicated that the spatial–temporal distribution of VWA in Xiangxi Bay depended on stratification and forms of intruding density currents. Age was large in spring and summer, and small in autumn and winter, reaching a maximum of 25 days in April. The vertical water renewal was faster during bottom intrusions from the mainstream than during middle and surface intrusions. At times, the epilimnion contained old water due to circulations, and the hypolimnion contained young water due to upstream flushing. In contrast to natural lakes, the bottom water was often younger than overlying intermediate waters. This demonstrated that mixed layer depth was insufficient to fully capture the vertical exchange in riverine systems with significant surface/bottom intrusion. The findings suggested VWA as a quantitative measure of vertical water transport in highly dynamic systems and its usability for environmental water management.

Varved lake sediments as indicators of recent cultural eutrophication and hypolimnetic hypoxia in lakes

Varved sediments provide a unique opportunity to track the history of eutrophication and oxygen conditions in lacustrine environments. The well-preserved varves indicate hypoxic/anoxic conditions in hypolimnetic waters. Sediment records from three lakes (Dubie, Salno and Wąsoskie) located in northern Poland were investigated to determine the drivers that led to the development of varves in the topmost parts of the sediment profiles. We distinguished lithozones characterized by different sedimentary structures in each sediment core. Age-depth models for each sediment record were established using varve counting and isotope dating. Additionally, an independent marker of the Askja-1875 CE tephra supported the dating of sediments from Lake Wąsoskie. Ordination analysis applied to a set of geochemical data enabled identification of three groups of proxies representing the variability in deposition of different material within the lakes: i) terrestrial minerogenic material, ii) organic matter, and iii) carbonates. Our data show that the onset of varve preservation occurred asynchronously in the investigated lakes (from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century) and that the transition from homogeneous to varved sediments was gradual and occurred over several decades. These transformations were consistent with the variability of the proxies, indicating cultural eutrophication and showing a strong relationship with the history of human-induced land-use changes in the catchments. This study shows that well-preserved varves in the topmost sediments of many lakes are geological evidence of human activity. • Preservation of varves in recent lake sediments indicates local land-use transformations. • The onset of varve preservation is asynchronous in different lakes. • The transition zones between homogenous to varved sediments indicate gradual response of lakes.

Assessing interannual variability in nitrogen sourcing and retention through hybrid Bayesian watershed modeling

Abstract. Excessive nutrient loading is a major cause of water quality problems worldwide, often leading to harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in lakes and coastal systems. Efficient nutrient management requires that loading sources are accurately quantified. However, loading rates from various urban and rural non-point sources remain highly uncertain especially with respect to climatological variation. Furthermore, loading models calibrated using statistical techniques (i.e., hybrid models) often have limited capacity to differentiate export rates among various source types, given the noisiness and paucity of observational data common to many locations. To address these issues, we leverage data for two North Carolina Piedmont river basins collected over three decades (1982–2017) using a mechanistically parsimonious watershed loading and transport model calibrated within a Bayesian hierarchical framework. We explore temporal drivers of loading by incorporating annual changes in precipitation, land use, livestock, and point sources within the model formulation. Also, different representations of urban development are compared based on how they constrain model uncertainties. Results show that urban lands built before 1980 are the largest source of nutrients, exporting over twice as much nitrogen per hectare than agricultural and post-1980 urban lands. In addition, pre-1980 urban lands are the most hydrologically constant source of nutrients, while agricultural lands show the most variation among high- and low-flow years. Finally, undeveloped lands export an order of magnitude (∼7–13×) less nitrogen than built environments.

Modeling hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen depletion using monitoring data.

Eutrophication increases hypoxia in lakes and reservoirs, causing deleterious effects on biological communities. Quantitative models would help managers develop effective strategies to address hypoxia issues, but most existing models are limited in their applicability to lakes with temporally resolved dissolved oxygen data. We describe a hierarchical Bayesian model that predicts dissolved oxygen in lakes based on a mechanistic understanding of the factors that influence the development of hypoxia during summer stratification. These factors include the days elapsed since stratification, dissolved organic carbon concentration, lake depth, and chlorophyll concentration. We demonstrate that the model can be fit to two datasets: one in which temporally resolved dissolved oxygen profiles were collected from 20 lakes in a single state and one in which single profiles were collected from 381 lakes across the United States. Analyses of these two datasets yielded similar relationships between volumetric oxygen demand and chlorophyll concentration, suggesting that the model structure appropriately represented the effects of eutrophication on oxygen depletion. Combining both datasets in a single model further improved the precision of predictions.

Episodic hypoxia in the western basin of Lake Erie

AbstractHypoxic conditions continue to be an environmental concern in lakes, including those with shallow and well‐mixed basins, such as the western basin of Lake Erie, in which hypoxia is not anticipated. We investigated the dynamics and causes of hypoxia using field measurements at two locations in the western basin during the late summer of 2017. Two hypoxic events (dissolved oxygen [DO] concentrations < 2 mg L−1) were recorded that were caused by upwelling of hypolimnetic water from the central basin of the lake following winds from the south and southwest. In this case, instantaneous stratification occurred when cool central basin water (i.e., 15.7°C) intruded as a 2.5‐m‐thick layer above the bottom under the warm western basin waters (i.e., 23.9°C). A third hypoxic event, which was associated with more typical thermal stratification from atmospheric warming, occurred during a calm and warm period near the end of the deployment. In this case, we observed a continuous decline in hypolimnetic DO from ≈ 8 to < 5 mg L−1, which likely declined to < 2 mg L−1 in 14 d using a one‐dimensional model. Interbasin exchange flows generated instantaneous hypoxia multiple times within a year and were the dominate cause (63% of 11 cases) of hypoxia identified during August fishing trawls in the study area over the past 30 yr. Results of this work should help with the prediction and understanding of hypoxia in lakes with multiple basins, which will be informative for water quality and fisheries management.

Long-Term Phosphorus Loading and Springtime Temperatures Explain Interannual Variability of Hypoxia in a Large Temperate Lake.

Anthropogenic eutrophication has led to the increased occurrence of hypoxia in inland and coastal waters around the globe. While low dissolved oxygen conditions are known to be driven primarily by nutrient loading and water column stratification, the relative importance of these factors and their associated time scales are not well understood. Here, we explore these questions for Lake Erie, a large temperate lake that experiences widespread annual summertime hypoxia. We leverage a three-decade data set of summertime hypoxic extent (1985-2015) and examine the role of seasonal and long-term nutrient loading, as well as hydrometeorological conditions. We find that a linear combination of decadal total phosphorus loading from tributaries and springtime air temperatures explains a high proportion of the interannual variability in average summertime hypoxic extent (R2 = 0.71). This result suggests that the lake responds primarily to long-term variations in phosphorus inputs, rather than springtime or annual loading as previously assumed, which is consistent with internal phosphorus loading from lake sediments likely being an important contributing mechanism. This result also demonstrates that springtime temperatures have a substantial impact on summertime hypoxia, likely by impacting the timing of onset of thermal stratification. These findings imply that management strategies based on reducing tributary phosphorus loading would take several years to reap full benefits, and that projected future increases in temperatures are likely to exacerbate hypoxia in Lake Erie and other temperate lakes.

Influences of dissolved oxygen on juvenile largemouth bass foraging behaviour

AbstractSummer stratification often leads to large areas of hypolimnetic hypoxia in lakes and reservoirs. These areas of hypoxia alter fish behaviours and distributions as well as restrict access to valuable prey resources, yet few studies have examined foraging behaviour of fish in response to low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. We observed foraging behaviour of juvenile largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, in response to varying DO concentrations in tanks that simulated a stratified lake water column during the summer: 28°C oxygenated epilimnion, 15°C deoxygenated hypolimnion. Compared with saturated concentrations (8.0–9.0 mg/L), hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations of 3.0 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L resulted in a drastic decrease in prey consumption, handling efficiency and time spent below the thermocline mainly due to avoidance behaviour of hypoxic conditions. However, we found at high hypolimnetic prey densities, individual fish were more willing to venture into reduced oxygen concentrations. Several unique behaviours including transporting prey above the oxycline for consumption, aquatic surface respiration and gill flaring were employed by largemouth bass foraging in low oxygen environments. Reduced hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations may influence and alter feeding strategies, especially for fish that rely on benthic prey resources.

Past Phosphorus Runoff Causes Present Oxygen Depletion in Lakes

Sediment cores show how phosphorus pollution in the 1950s led to current, inherited hypoxia in lakes in the Alps.

Age-dependent survival and selected gene expression in Daphnia magna after short-term exposure to low dissolved oxygen

Accumulation and breakdown of large algal blooms often causes serious hypoxia in lakes, representing a major potential threat to zooplankton grazers such as Daphnia. Generally, populations comprise different age groups, whose molecular responses to environmental stressors are different. The aim of our study was to investigate the age-dependent effects of oxygen depletion on D. magna survival and selected gene expressions of energy-relevance and stress-defense. Four age groups of D. magna (1, 4, 7 and 14 days) were exposed to 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25 mM dissolved oxygen (DO) for 48 h. Results showed that survival rates of 14-day-old individuals in 0.0625 mM DO and 0.125 mM DO were much lower than those in 0.25 mM DO, while no significant difference was found in remaining age groups. Low DO up-regulated hemoglobin expression compared with the controls in all age groups; the similar pattern in a-esterase was observed when 1-day-old individuals were exposed to 0.0625 mM, 4and 7-day-old individuals at 0.125 mM, respectively. HSP70 and CAT expression were significantly upregulated in 1and 7-day-old individuals exposed to 0.125 mM. The findings indicate that age structure should be taken into account when interpreting dynamics of Daphnia populations affected by oxygen depletion. Age may modify energy reallocation and alter susceptibility of the organisms.

Characterization of the bacterial community composition in a hypoxic zone induced by Microcystis blooms in Lake Taihu, China

Cyanobacterial blooms have become more frequent as a result of eutrophication in lakes. The accumulation and breakdown of huge cyanobacterial biomasses often cause hypoxia in lakes. However, little is known about microbial diversity in these areas. In this study, we characterized the bacterial community composition of a Microcystis-bloom-induced hypoxic area in Lake Taihu, which is a large, shallow lake, by analysing terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms of 16S ribosomal RNA genes and clone libraries generated from selected samples. Bacterial samples were collected at different sites within the hypoxic zone at different times during the development of hypoxia. The results showed that the composition of both free-living and particle-attached bacterial communities in the water column varied spatially and temporally and that these variations were largely related to changes in the concentrations of dissolved oxygen and ions in the water column. Sequences affiliated with Clostridium were predominantly found at the onset of hypoxia, whereas members of the LD12 cluster were detected at the posthypoxia stage; Desulfovibrio and Comamonadaceae dominated throughout the hypoxic event. We speculate that these organisms may be associated with the decomposition of Microcystis biomass and the production of volatile organic compounds; however, their specific function in Microcystis-bloom-induced hypoxia warrants further study.