A Simple Method for Predicting the Capacity of a Lake for Development Based on Lake Trophic Status

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1519-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Dillon ◽  
F. H. Rigler

A general technique is presented for calculating the capacity of a lake for development based on quantifiable relationships between nutrient inputs and water quality parameters reflecting lake trophic status. Use of the technique for southern Ontario lakes is described. From the land use and geological formations prevalent in a lake’s drainage basin, the phosphorus exported to the lake in runoff water can be calculated, which, when combined with the input directly to the lake’s surface in precipitation and dry fallout, gives a measure of the natural total phosphorus load. From the population around the lake, the maximum artificial phosphorus load to the lake can be calculated and, if necessary, modified according to sewage disposal facilities used. The sum of the natural and artificial loads can be combined with a measure of the lake’s morphometry expressed as the mean depth, the lake’s water budget expressed as the lake’s flushing rate, and the phosphorus retention coefficient of the lake, a parameter dependent on both the lake’s morphometry and water budget, to predict springtime total phosphorus concentration in the lake. Long-term average runoff per unit of land area, precipitation, and lake evaporation data for Ontario provide a means of calculating the necessary water budget parameters without expensive and time-consuming field measurements. The predicted spring total phosphorus concentration can be used to predict the average chlorophyll a concentration in the lake in the summer, and this, in turn, can be used to estimate the Secchi disc transparency. Thus, the effects of an increase in development on a lake’s water quality can be predicted. Conversely, by setting limits for the "permissible" summer average chlorophyll a concentration or Secchi disc transparency, the "permissible" total phosphorus concentration at spring overturn can be calculated. This can be translated into "permissible" artificial load, which can then be expressed as total allowable development. This figure can be compared to the current quantity of development and recommendations made concerning the desirability of further development on the lake.

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Arthington ◽  
G. J. Miller ◽  
P. M. Outridge

The water quality and trophic status of two Queensland dune lakes are compared in the context of assessing the impacts of recreational use and other human activities. Lake Freshwater, Cooloola, has a mean total phosphorus concentration of 12.1 ± 3.3 µg l−1 and is approaching mesotrophic status, whereas Blue Lagoon, Moreton Island, is oligotrophic. Natural loadings of total phosphorus, ranging from 0.2 to 0.35 g m−2 yr−1, are consistent with the progression of Lake Freshwater from oligotrophic to mesotrophic status. The phosphorus loadings predicted by Vollenweider's (1976) one-compartment model, for two values of mean lake depth, also indicate that Lake Freshwater is tending towards eutrophic conditions. The management implications of phosphorus loadings and budgets are discussed.


1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mark Hanson ◽  
Robert Henry Peters

We used data taken from the literature to develop and compare several estimators of crustacean zooplankton biomass (49 lakes) and profundal macrobenthos biomass (38 lakes). Both mean zooplankton biomass (r2 = 0.72, P < 0.001) and mean profundal macrobenthos biomass (r2 = 0.48, P < 0.001) correlated better with mean total phosphorus concentration than with Secchi depth, mean depth, maximum depth, or lake surface area. Mean total phosphorus concentration was also superior to mean chlorophyll a concentration (r2 = 0.57, P < 0.001) as an estimator of zooplankton biomass, but data were insufficient to evaluate chlorophyll a concentration as an estimator of macrobenthos biomass. Inclusion of maximum depth as a variable in a multiple regression resulted in a slight but significant (P < 0.030) improvement in the zooplankton–total phosphorus relationship (R2 = 0.75, P < 0.001). Inclusion of lake surface area as a variable in a multiple regression significantly (P < 0.001) improved the predictive power of the profundal macrobenthos–total phosphorus relationship (R2 = 0.59, P < 0.001).


2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon A. Townsend

Manton River Reservoir (MRR) and Darwin River Reservoir (DRR) are two small impoundments in the Australian wet/dry tropics. Over an eight-year period, chlorophyll a concentrations in the mixed layer averaged 3.6 µg L−1 in DRR, and 7.1 µg L−1 in MRR. The seasonal pattern of chlorophyll a at MRR was influenced by wet season wash-out (February average 4.8 µg L−1 ), and dry season destratification and nutrient enrichment of the surface waters (July average 8.4 mg L−1 ). In contrast, DRR exhibited near uniform chlorophyll a concentrations over the year. The seasonal patterns of DRR and MRR chlorophyll a are typical of tropical water bodies which tend to have a smaller annual range than temperate lakes, though this can be modified by significant wash-out. Empirical evidence suggests that the phytoplankton biomass of each reservoir is phosphorus limited, relative to the potential provided by other nutrients and light energy. This conclusion is based on a regression of total phosphorus and chlorophyll a concentrations of pooled DRR and MRR data (P < 0.001; r2 = 0.90), and the high total-nitrogen to total-phosphorus concentration ratios (by weight) of 50 and 37 in DRR and MRR, respectively. Annual chlorophyll a and total phosphorus concentrations for both reservoirs are in accord with the OECD regression for temperate lakes and reservoirs.


1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Scheider

Phosphorus and hydrological budgets were constructed for four small lakes with Precambrian drainage in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Lake outflow discharge ranged from 21.7 × 105 to 177 × 105 m3∙yr−1. Annual phosphorus input to the lakes from terrestrial drainage and precipitation totaled 36.3–188 kg∙yr−1. The lakes retained 16–41% of the annual input. These data were used to test a series of models that predict the spring total phosphorus concentration in lake water and the mean summer chlorophyll a. The predicted spring phosphorus concentration agreed well with measured values (within 1.3 mg∙m−3) except where human-associated phosphorus input may have contributed to the phosphorus budget of the lake. Agreement between predicted and measured chlorophyll a was not as close. A figure of 0.48 kg P∙capita−1∙yr−1 was calculated as the human-associated supply. Key words: phosphorus budget, chlorophyll a, predictive model, Precambrian lake


1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Canfield Jr. ◽  
Jerome V. Shireman ◽  
Douglas E. Colle ◽  
William T. Haller ◽  
Curtis E. Watkins II ◽  
...  

Chlorophyll a concentrations in Lake Pearl, Florida, increased as the percentage of the lake's total volume infested with aquatic macrophytes decreased. Using data from 32 Florida lakes having a wide range of limnological characteristics, we demonstrated that predictions of chlorophyll a concentrations could be improved by including a term for the percentage of the lake's total volume infested with macrophytes in existing nutrient–chlorophyll models. Our best-fit multivariate regression equation was[Formula: see text]where CHLA is the chlorophyll a concentration (milligrams per cubic metre), TN is the total nitrogen concentration (milligrams per cubic metre), TP is the total phosphorus concentration (milligrams per cubic metre), and PVI is the percentage of the lake's total volume infested with macrophytes. By use of this equation, we assessed the potential effect of aquatic macrophytes on chlorophyll yields and Secchi disc transparencies in lakes of different trophic status.


1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 831-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. T. Riley ◽  
E. E. Prepas

Data from the literature were used to calculate separate regressions of summer chlorophyll a concentration ([Chl a]) on spring total phosphorus concentration ([TP]) for lakes that remain thermally stratified during the summer and lakes that mix intermittently during the summer. Significant differences were found in the spring [TP] – summer [Chl a] relationships for the two lake types (P < 0.05). The mean ratios of summer [TP] to spring [TP] were also significantly different in stratified and mixed lakes (P < 0.001); this difference is the explanation offered for why the spring [TP] – summer [Chl a] relationships were different in stratified and mixed lakes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 2068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junfeng Xiong ◽  
Chen Lin ◽  
Ronghua Ma ◽  
Zhigang Cao

Phosphorus (P) is an important substance for the growth of phytoplankton and an efficient index to assess the water quality. However, estimation of the TP concentration in waters by remote sensing must be associated with optical substances such as the chlorophyll-a (Chla) and the suspended particulate matter (SPM). Based on the good correlation between the suspended inorganic matter (SPIM) and P in Lake Hongze, we used the direct and indirect derivation methods to develop algorithms for the total phosphorus (TP) estimation with the MODIS/Aqua data. Results demonstrate that the direct derivation algorithm based on 645 nm and 1240 nm of the MODIS/Aqua performs a satisfied accuracy (R2 = 0.75, RMSE = 0.029mg/L, MRE = 39% for the training dataset, R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 0.033mg/L, MRE = 47% for the validate dataset), which is better than that of the indirect derivation algorithm. The 645 nm and 1240 nm of MODIS are the main characteristic band of the SPM, so that algorithm can effectively reflect the P variations in Lake Hongze. Additionally, the ratio of the TP to the SPM is positively correlated with the accuracy of the algorithm as well. The proportion of the SPIM in the SPM has a complex effect on the accuracy of the algorithm. When the SPIM accounts for 78%, the algorithm achieves the highest accuracy. Furthermore, the performance of this direct derivation algorithm was examined in two inland lakes in China (Lake Nanyi and Lake Chaohu), it derived the expected P distribution in Lake Nanyi whereas the algorithm failed in Lake Chaohu. Different water properties influence significantly the accuracy of this direct derivation algorithm, while the TP, Chla, and suspended particular inorganic matter (SPOM) of Lake Chaohu are much higher than those of the other two lakes, thus it is difficult to estimate the TP concentration by a simple band combination in Lake Chaohu. Although the algorithm depends on the dataset used in the development, it usually presents a good estimation for those waters where the SPIM dominated, especially when the SPIM accounts for 60% to 80% of the SPM. This research proposed a direct derivation algorithm for the TP estimation for the turbid lake and will provide a theoretical and practical reference for extending the optical remote sensing application and the TP empirical algorithm of Lake Hongze’s help for the local government management water quality.


1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 804-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. K. Basu ◽  
F. R. Pick

Planktonic chlorophyll a (chl-a) concentrations in the Rideau River, Ontario showed longitudinal and seasonal variation and ranged from 2 to 19 μg∙L−1. Chlorophyll a concentrations in the river were not simply a reflection of the concentrations in the headwaters. On movement from the lentic headwaters into the lotic river waters there was usually a significant decrease in chl-a concentration. Downstream there were reaches of net increase in chl-a (sources), reaches of no change in concentration, and reaches of net decrease (sinks). Increases in concentration only occurred over reaches with retention times of 72 h or longer. No increases in chl-a concentration occurred over a reach with a retention time less than 50 h. Chlorophyll a concentration was not significantly correlated with discharge. Chlorophyll a concentration was positively related to total phosphorus concentration (R2 = 0.15, p = 0.016). About 50% of the variation in chl-a concentration could be accounted for by a combination of total phosphorus, nitrate, and soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document