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Inherent optical properties of suspended particulates in four temperate lakes: application of in situ spectroscopy

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Abstract

Instrumentation measuring hyperspectral particle attenuation and absorption was used to assess particle concentration and size, chlorophyll, and spectral characteristics as a function of depth in four temperate lakes of different trophy. Partitioning the absorption coefficient permitted us to analyze properties of phytoplankton absorption as a function of ambient illumination and hydrographic conditions. Stratification was found to be a controlling factor in the size distribution and concentration of particles. Bloom cycles (chlorophyll > 10 mg m−3) were observed to evolve over several weeks but on occasion did change rapidly. Total chlorophyll concentration revealed the majority of the lakes did not follow the typical seasonal succession of biomass associated with temperate waters. Particle and chlorophyll concentration maxima did not always coincide, cautioning the use of chlorophyll a as a surrogate for algal biomass. Phytoplankton near the base of the euphotic zone, including a deep chlorophyll maximum in an oligotrophic system, were found to exhibit significant chromatic adaptation. Unique absorption peaks identified the ubiquitous presence of cyanobacteria in all four lakes. Finally, particle resuspension and possible nepheloid layers were observed in the two smallest lakes.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Upstate Freshwater Institute (UFI) for helping fund this research and for providing field instrumentation and assistance. UFI also performed the laboratory measurements. We are grateful to the staff at the School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine for technical and administrative support. The authors gratefully acknowledge valuable suggestions made by two anonymous reviewers. This contribution is No. 312 from the Upstate Freshwater Institute.

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  1. School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, 458 Aubert Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    David Kalenak & Emmanuel Boss

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

    Steven W. Effler

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  1. David Kalenak
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  2. Emmanuel Boss
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Correspondence to David Kalenak.

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Kalenak, D., Boss, E. & Effler, S.W. Inherent optical properties of suspended particulates in four temperate lakes: application of in situ spectroscopy. Hydrobiologia 713, 127–148 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1498-5

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