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Supply of phosphorus to the water column of a productive hardwater lake: controlling mechanisms and management considerations

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Abstract

Onondaga Lake is a hypereutrophic, industrially polluted lake located in Syracuse, NY. High hypolimnetic concentrations of H2S that develop after anoxia restrict the accumulation of total Fe2+ due to the formation of FeS, and may limit Fe-PO4 interactions. High water column concentrations of Ca2+ and high rates of CaCO3 deposition occur due to inputs of Ca2+ from an adjacent soda ash manufacturing facility. Patterns of P concentration and other water chemistry parameters in the lower waters, and results from chemical equilibrium calculations, suggest that Ca-PO4 minerals may regulate the supply of P from sediments to the water column in Onondaga Lake. These findings have important management implications for Onondaga Lake. First, declines in water column Ca2+ concentrations due to reductions in industrial CaCl2 input may result in conditions of undersaturation with respect to Ca-PO4 mineral solubility and increases in the release of P from sediments to the water column. Second, introduction of O2 from hypolimnetic oxygenation, as a lake remediation initiative, may enhance P supply from sediments, because of increased solubility of Ca-PO4 minerals at lower pH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University, 13210, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Charles T. Driscoll

  2. Upstate Freshwater Institute, 13214, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Steven W. Effler & Susan M. Doerr

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 49931, Houghton, MI, USA

    Martin T. Auer & Michael R. Penn

Authors
  1. Charles T. Driscoll
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  2. Steven W. Effler
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  3. Martin T. Auer
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  4. Susan M. Doerr
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  5. Michael R. Penn
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Driscoll, C.T., Effler, S.W., Auer, M.T. et al. Supply of phosphorus to the water column of a productive hardwater lake: controlling mechanisms and management considerations. Hydrobiologia 253, 61–72 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00050722

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