Modeling Effects of Sediment Diagenesis on Recovery of Hypolimnetic Oxygen
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 1
Abstract
Diagenesis of particulate organic matter in sediments can have important effects on the dissolved oxygen (DO) resources of lakes and delay potential benefits from reductions in phosphorus (P) loading. A sediment diagenesis model of intermediate complexity, , is developed and tested for Onondaga Lake, New York, and linked to a validated one-dimensional mechanistic hydrodynamic/stratification model (UFILS4). Modeling was supported by detailed characterization of the pelagic sediments and long-term monitoring of the lake’s water column that included transformation from hypereutrophy to upper mesotrophy and coupled improvements in hypolimnetic DO. performed well in representing the observed decreasing trajectory of the downward flux of particulate organic carbon and in predicting the decreases in sediment effluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon and sediment oxygen demand over a 30-year period. and the linked overall water-quality model, , were applied to project the extent and timing of improvements in sediment fluxes and hypolimnetic DO resources for an array of P management alternatives. Substantial delays in response associated with the effects of diagenesis were predicted that extended to reach 95% of steady state. Long-term projections indicate that improvements from the most aggressive P control alternatives may be sufficient to maintain certain coldwater fish.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This is contribution No. 296 of the Upstate Freshwater Institute. This research paper was not fully reviewed and encompassed by the ACJ peer reviewed modeling process. As such, it represents the views and conclusions of the authors and not those of Onondaga County.
References
Bloesch, J. (2005). “Sedimentation and lake sediment formation.” The lakes handbook, Vol. 1, O’Sullivan, P. E., and Reynolds, C. S., eds., Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK, 197–229.
Boudreau, B. P. (1996). “A method-of-lines code for carbon and nutrient diagenesis in aquatic sediments.” Comput. Geosci., 22(5), 479–496.
Cai, W. J., Luther, G., Cornwell, J., and Giblin, A. (2010). “Carbon cycling and the coupling between proton and electron transfer reactions in aquatic sediments in Lake Champlain.” Aquatic Geochem., 16(3), 421–446.
Chapra, S. C. (1997). Surface water-quality modeling, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Chapra, S. C. (2003). “Engineering water quality models and TMDLs.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. Div., 129(4), 247–256.
Chapra, S. C., Auer, M. T., Gawde, R. K., and Gelda, R. K. (2012). “Modeling lake sediment diagenesis in a management context.” J. Environ. Eng., in press.
Chapra, S. C., and Canale, R. P. (1991). “Long-term phenomenological model of phosphorus and oxygen for stratified lakes.” Water Res., 25(6), 707–715.
Chapra, S. C., and Dobson, H. F. (1981). “Quantification of the lake typologies of Naumann (Surface Growth) and Thienemann (oxygen) with special reference to the Great Lakes.” J. Great Lakes Res., 7(2), 182–193.
Chapra, S. C., and Reckhow, K. H. (1983). Engineering approaches for lake management, volume 2: Mechanistic modeling, Butterworth, Boston.
Charlton, M. N., Milne, J. E., Booth, W. G., and Chiocchio, F. (1993). “Lake Erie offshore in 1990: Restoration and resilience in the Central Basin.” J. Great Lakes Res., 19(2), 291–309.
Cooke, G. D., Welch, E. B., Peterson, S. A., and Nichols, S. A. (2005). Restoration and management of lakes and reservoirs, Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
den Heyer, C., and Kalff, J. (1998). “Organic matter mineralization rates in sediments: A within- and among-lake study.” Limnol. Oceangr., 43(4), 695–705.
Dhakar, S. P., and Burdige, D. J. (1996). “A coupled, non-linear, steady-state model for early diagenetic processes in pelagic sediments.” Am. J. Sci., 296(3), 296–330.
DiToro, D. M. (2001). Sediment flux modeling, Wiley, New York.
Dittrich, M., Wehrli, B., and Reichert, P. (2009). “Lake sediments during the transient eutrophication period: Reactive-transport model and identifiability study.” Ecol. Model., 220(20), 2751–2769.
Effler, S. W. (1996). Limnological and engineering analysis of a polluted urban lake. Prelude to environmental management of Onondaga Lake, New York, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Effler, S. W., Matthews Brooks, C. M., and Driscoll, C. T. (2001). “Changes in deposition of phytoplankton constituents in a polluted lake.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 35(15), 3082–3088.
Effler, S. W., and O’Donnell, S. M. (2010). “A long-term record of epilimnetic phosphorus patterns in recovering Onondaga Lake, New York.” Fund. Appl. Limnol., 177(1), 1–18.
Effler, S. W., Owens, E. M., Matthews, D. A., O’Donnell, S. M., and Hassett, J. M. (2009a). “Effects of discharge of spent cooling water from an oligotrophic lake to a polluted eutrophic lake.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. Div., 135(2), 96–106.
Effler, S. W., Prestigiacomo, A. R., Matthews, D. A., Michelanko, E. M., and Hughes, D. J. (2009b). “Partitioning phosphorus concentrations and loads in tributaries of recovering urban lake.” Lake Reservoir Manage., 25(3), 225–239.
Ellefson, B. J. (2010). “Characterizing the effects of turbulence on sediment oxygen and sediment nitrate demand using flow-through reactors.” M.S. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI.
Gawde, R. K. (2011). “Modeling particulate organic matter diagenesis with Sed2K.” M.S. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI.
Gelda, R. K. et al. (2012). “Calibration and application of a sediment accumulation rate model-a case study.” Inland Waters, 2(1), 23–36.
Gelda, R. K., Auer, M. T., and Effler, S. W. (1995). “Determination of sediment oxygen demand by direct measurements and by inference from reduced species accumulation.” Mar. Freshwater Res., 46(1), 81–88.
Guillemette, F., and del Giorgio, P. A. (2011). “Reconstructing the various facets of dissolved organic carbon bioavailability in freshwater ecosystems.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 56(2), 734–748.
Hurteau, C., Matthews, D. A., and Effler, S. W. (2010). “A retrospective analysis of solids deposition in Onondaga Lake, New York: Composition, temporal patterns, and drivers.” Lake Reservoir Manage., 26(1), 43–53.
Lam, D. C. L., and Schertzer, W. M. (1987). “Lake Erie thermocline model results: Comparison with 1967–1982 data and relation to anoxia occurrences.” J. Great Lakes Res., 13(4), 757–769.
Larsen, D. P., Schultz, D. W., and Malereg, K. W. (1981). “Summer internal phosphorus supplies in Shagawa Lake, Minnesota.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 26(4), 740–753.
Lehman, J. T. (1988). “Hypolimnetic metabolism in Lake Washington: Relative effects of nutrient load and food web structure on lake productivity.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 33(6), 1334–1347.
Matthews, D. A., and Effler, S. W. (2006). “Long-term changes in the areal hypolimnetic oxygen deficit (AHOD) of Onondaga Lake: Evidence of sediment feedback.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 51(1), 702–714.
Matthews, D. A., Effler, S. W., O’Donnell, S. M., Driscoll, C. T., and Matthews, C. M. (2008). “Electron budgets for the hypolimnion of a recovering urban lake, 1989–2004: Response to changes in organic carbon deposition and availability of electron acceptors.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 53(2), 743–759.
Mattson, M. D., and Likens, G. E. (1993). “Redox reactions of organic matter decomposition in a soft water lake.” Biogeochemistry, 19(3), 149–172.
Middelburg, J. J. (1989). “A simple rate model for organic matter decomposition in marine sediments.” Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 53(7), 1577–1581.
Mortimer, C. H. (1942). “The exchange of dissolved substances between mud and water in lakes (Parts III and IV, summary, and references).” J. Ecol., 30(1), 147–201.
O’Donnell, S. M., O’Donnell, D. M., Owens, E. M., Effler, S. W., Prestigiacomo, A. R., and Baker, D. M. (2010). “Variations in the stratification regime of Onondaga Lake: Patterns, modeling, and implications.” Fund. Appl. Limnol., 176(1), 11–27.
Owens, E. M. (1998). “Development and testing of one-dimensional hydrothermal models of Cannonsville Reservoir.” Lake Reservoir Manage., 14(2–3), 172–185.
Rosa, F., and Burns, N. M. (1987). “Lake Erie central basin oxygen depletion changes from 1929–1980.” J. Great Lakes Res., 13(4), 684–696.
Rowan, D. J., Cornett, R. J., King, K., and Risto, B. (1995). “Sediment focusing and dating: A new approach.” J. Paleolimnol., 13(2), 107–118.
Rowell, C. (1996). “Paleolimnology of Onondaga Lake: The history of anthropogenic impacts on lake water quality.” Lake Reservoir Manage., 12(1), 35–45.
Tango, P. J., and Ringler, N. H. (1996). “The role of pollution and external refugia in structuring the Onondaga Lake fish community.” Lake Reservoir Manage., 12(1), 81–90.
Westrich, J. T., and Berner, R. A. (1984). “The role of sedimentary organic matter in bacterial sulfate reduction: The G model tested.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 29(2), 236–249.
Wetzel, R. G. (2001). Limnology: Lake and reservoir ecosystems, Academic, New York.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2011
Accepted: May 24, 2012
Published online: May 28, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.