Permanent Thermal and Chemical Stratification in a Restored Urban Meromictic Lake

Meromictic lakes are unique aquatic ecosystems that occur extremely rarely. The phenomenon of meromixis can result from both natural and anthropogenic factors. The aim of this study was to analyse thermal and chemical stratification in a small, deep (6 ha, H max = 24.5 m) lake. The evaluated lake had a typical summer thermal profile with a shallow epilimnion, a sharp thermocline, and a distinct monimolimnion layer in the hypolimnion, which was also maintained during circulation. The lake had a clinograde oxygen profile, with an oxygen deficit in the metalimnion and permanent anoxic conditions in the deeper layers, including during circulation. A redox zone was identified during summer stagnation. The monimolimnion formed a thermally isolated layer at a depth of around 15 m, and the chemocline was situated above the monimolimnion. In the chemocline, the EC gradient ranged from 61 to 77 μS·cm−1 per meter of depth in the summer and from 90 to 130 μS·cm−1 per meter of depth during circulation. EC was significantly correlated with Ca2+ concentration (r2 = 0.549). Chemical stratification, particularly with regard to organic matter distribution, was observed in the chemocline. The monimolimnion severely limited nutrient internal loading.

Dissolved Oxygen Profiles and Its Problems at Lake Maninjau, West Sumatra – Indonesia

In general, the tropical lake in Indonesia is one of the unique ecosystems which are functioning in both ecological and economic services. This study aims to analyze the dissolved oxygen profile of caldera tropical lake represented by Lake Maninjau at West Sumatera, Indonesia, and its impacts. Lake Maninjau is not only for culture fisheries but also serves as important hydroelectricity power. Surveys at Lake Maninjau were conducted in August 2006, March 2014, September 2017, and April 2018. The results showed that the average depth is 105 m. It covers 13,260 ha of an area with an elevation of 461.5 m above sea level and a maximum depth of 165 m. The lake water comes from rainfall, small rivers, and the surrounding groundwater, with one outflow in the Batang Antokan River. Based on the measurement, it was observed that decreasing dissolved oxygen levels occurred at the surface to the depth of 40 m in 2006, and changed from surface to a depth of 12 m in 2018 indicating the worse condition of water quality compared with the previous years. Recently, bad water quality with mass mortality of cultured fish often occurs. Next, the percentage of fish cages area at Lake Maninjau in 2017 was 0.43%. Besides human activities, it was suggested that fish cages also contributed pollutant load to this lake. To maintain the sustainability of the lake, basic ecological information is necessary for the next study.

Assessment of Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Solar Cells Degradation due to Water Ingress Effect on The CdS Buffer Layer

The effect of water ingress on the surface of the buffer layer of a Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell was studied. Such degradation can occur either during the fabrication process, if it involves a chemical bath as is often the case for CdS, or while the modules are in the field and encapsulants degrade. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, devices with a structure sodalime glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS were immersed in deionized water. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion (predominantly sodium and potassium) and to assess potential degradation mechanisms. The results were compared to device measurements, which indicate a degradation of all device parameters due to an increase in the total and peak trap densities, as shown by simulation. This is potentially due to a modification of the sodium profile in the bulk CIGS, with a decrease content after water soaking or because the oxygen profile increased in the bulk CIGS after water soaking.