Determining Primary Productivity of Lake Roosevelt with 14C
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 125, Issue 8
Abstract
During two sampling trips in 1997, primary productivity was measured at 11 stations in Lake Roosevelt using a radioactive carbon tracer capable of determining subtle changes in water quality. Both spatial and temporal variations in productivity were observed. For the August 1997 field trip, productivities on the mainstem reservoir ranged from 485 to 1,243 mgC/m2/d, with an average value of 783 mgC/m2/d. Temporal differences between the August and October trips varied by as much as 880 mgC/m2/d. The data are compared to measurements taken over a four-year period to determine subtle, long-term changes in the water quality. Productivity at Lake Roosevelt is heavily influenced by tributary inflow, and generally increased in the reservoir reaches below the mouths of the tributaries. Mainstem sites between the tributaries had lower productivities than the upstream and downstream tributary sites, indicating that nutrients may be rapidly utilized in the immediate vicinity of the inflows. However, productivities in the tributary arms were consistently low, despite the fact that their physicochemical properties stimulated growth in the reservoir. The productivity data illustrate the difficulty in characterizing a large water body as a homogeneous quantity in terms of assessing loading impacts. The results also demonstrate that long-term changes in water quality can be masked by short-term events. The long-term trend is that Lake Roosevelt, a eutrophic/mesotrophic lake, is becoming an oligotrophic lake, but seasonal rainfall events influence the lake's specific characterization.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 125 • Issue 8 • August 1999
Pages: 747 - 754
History
Received: Sep 11, 1998
Published online: Aug 1, 1999
Published in print: Aug 1999
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