Assessment of two non-invasive techniques for measuring turbulent benthic fluxes in a shallow lake

Benthic fluxes refer to the exchange rates of nutrients and other compounds between the water column and the sediment bed in aquatic ecosystems. Their quantification contributes to our understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning. Near-bed hydrodynamics plays an important role at the sediment-water interface, especially in shallow lakes, but it is poorly considered by traditional measuring techniques of flux quantification, such as sediment incubations. Thus, alternative sampling techniques are needed to characterize key benthic fluxes under in-situ hydrodynamic conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two promising methods: relaxed eddy accumulation (REA) and mass transfer coefficient (MTC). We applied them in a hyper-eutrophic shallow lake to measure the fluxes of ammonium, phosphate, iron, and manganese ions. For the first time, REA revealed hourly nutrient flux variations, indicating a strong lake biogeochemical dynamics at short time-scales. Daily average fluxes are of similar orders of magnitude for REA and MTC for ammonium (24 and 42 mmol m2 d-1), manganese (1.0 and 0.8), and iron (0.8 and 0.7) ions. They are one order of magnitude higher than fluxes estimated from sediment incubations, due to the difficulty in reproducing in-situ oxygen and hydrodynamic conditions in the laboratory. Although the accuracy of both techniques needs to be improved, the results revealed their potential: REA follows the short-term biogeochemical dynamics of sediments, while MTC could be widely used for lake monitoring because of its simpler implementation.

Occurrence of BMAA Isomers in Bloom-Impacted Lakes and Reservoirs of Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, and the United Kingdom

The neurotoxic alkaloid β-N-methyl-amino-l-alanine (BMAA) and related isomers, including N-(2-aminoethyl glycine) (AEG), β-amino-N-methyl alanine (BAMA), and 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DAB), have been reported previously in cyanobacterial samples. However, there are conflicting reports regarding their occurrence in surface waters. In this study, we evaluated the impact of amending lake water samples with trichloroacetic acid (0.1 M TCA) on the detection of BMAA isomers, compared with pre-existing protocols. A sensitive instrumental method was enlisted for the survey, with limits of detection in the range of 5−10 ng L−1. Higher detection rates and significantly greater levels (paired Wilcoxon’s signed-rank tests, p < 0.001) of BMAA isomers were observed in TCA-amended samples (method B) compared to samples without TCA (method A). The overall range of B/A ratios was 0.67−8.25 for AEG (up to +725%) and 0.69−15.5 for DAB (up to +1450%), with absolute concentration increases in TCA-amended samples of up to +15,000 ng L−1 for AEG and +650 ng L−1 for DAB. We also documented the trends in the occurrence of BMAA isomers for a large breadth of field-collected lakes from Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Data gathered during this overarching campaign (overall, n = 390 within 45 lake sampling sites) indicated frequent detections of AEG and DAB isomers, with detection rates of 30% and 43% and maximum levels of 19,000 ng L−1 and 1100 ng L−1, respectively. In contrast, BAMA was found in less than 8% of the water samples, and BMAA was not found in any sample. These results support the analyses of free-living cyanobacteria, wherein BMAA was often reported at concentrations of 2−4 orders of magnitude lower than AEG and DAB. Seasonal measurements conducted at two bloom-impacted lakes indicated limited correlations of BMAA isomers with total microcystins or chlorophyll-a, which deserves further investigation.

Hydrodynamic and ecological 3D modeling in tropical lakes

Conservation and improvement of water quality in water bodies is an important matter to maintain all of its uses as well as other human necessities like microclimate regulation and leisure. Lakes and reservoirs have a complex circulation behavior with vertical temperature profiles changes along the time, resulting in differences in water density and a vertical stratification condition. This characteristic can directly affect the water quality conditions perturbing its main indicators. This study aims to evaluate the quasi-3D models' capacity to represent the hydrodynamic behavior of a tropical lake and its effects on the main variables that characterize its water quality. To achieve this objective, high-frequency monitoring data were collected, the lake was represented in a quasi-3D model, and the accuracy of the result was evaluated by applying statistical indices. The evaluation showed good agreement between field measures and simulated results when compared with other applications. The connections between hydrodynamic behavior and water quality were seen with the simulations results analysis, which showed that mixing events and long stratification periods perturb the water quality, the first with re-suspended bed material and the second blocking the surface and bottom exchanges. The application of a 3D model gives the capacity to reproduce the reservoir spatial variability and its vertical profiles, which is necessary to study the constituents' distributions across the water column. Therefore, the hydrodynamic and water quality behavior of lakes was accurately represented by the model, as well as the importance of improving high-frequency monitoring techniques.

Impact of Escherichia coli from stormwater drainage on recreational water quality: an integrated monitoring and modelling of urban catchment, pipes and lake

In recent years, recreational waterbodies are increasingly favoured in urban areas. In spite of the growing concerns for maintaining the required bathing water quality, the impacts of stormwater drainage are still poorly controlled. In this context, this study originally develops an integrated urban catchment-pipes-lake monitoring and modelling approach to simulate the impacts of microbial quality from stormwater drainage on recreational water quality. The modelling system consists of three separated components: the urban catchment component, the 3D lake hydrodynamic component and the 3D lake water quality component. A series of processes are simulated in the model, such as rainfall-discharge, build-up, wash-off of Escherichia coli (E. coli) on urban surfaces, sewer flows, hydrothermal dynamics of lake water and transport and mortality of E. coli in the lake. This integrated model is tested for an urban catchment and its related recreational lake located in the Great Paris region. Continuous monitoring and samplings were performed at the stormwater drainage outlet and three different sites in the lake. Comparing the measured data with simulation results over 20 months, the modelling system can correctly represent the E. coli dynamics in the stormwater sewer systems and in the lake. Although uncertainties related to parameter values, pollution sources and E. coli mortality processes could be further discussed, the good performance of this modelling approach emphasizes a promising potential for urban bathing water quality management.

Modelling eutrophication in lake ecosystems: A review

Eutrophication is one of the main causes of the degradation of lake ecosystems. Its intensification during the last decades has led the stakeholders to seek for water management and restoration solutions, including those based on modelling approaches. This paper presents a review of lake eutrophication modelling, on the basis of a scientific appraisal performed by researchers for the French ministries of Environment and Agriculture. After a brief introduction presenting the scientific context, a bibliography analysis is presented. Then the main results obtained with process-based models are summarized. A synthesis of the scientist recommendations in order to improve the lake eutrophication modelling is finally given before the conclusion.

Linking phytoplankton pigment composition and optical properties: A framework for developing remote-sensing metrics for monitoring cyanobacteria

This study has been performed in the framework of a research program aiming to develop a low-cost aerial sensor for the monitoring of cyanobacteria in freshwater ecosystems that could be used for early detection. Several empirical and mechanistic remote-sensing tools have been already developed and tested at large scales and have proven useful in monitoring cyanobacterial blooms. However, the effectiveness of these tools for early detection is hard to assess because such work requires the detection of low concentrations of characteristic pigments amid complex ecosystems exhibiting several confounding factors (turbidity, blooms of other species, etc.). We developed a framework for performing high-throughput measurements of the absorbance and reflectance of small volumes (∼ = 20 mL) of controlled mixtures of phytoplankton species and studied the potential of this framework to validate remote-sensing proxies of cyanobacteria concentration. The absorption and reflectance spectra of single and multiple cultures carried a specific signal that allowed for the quantitative analysis of culture mixes. This specific signal was shown to be related to known pigment absorbance spectra. The concentrations of chlorophyll-a and -b, phycocyanin and phycoerythrin could be obtained from direct absorbance measurements and were correlated with the concentration obtained after pigment extraction (R² ≥ 0.96 for all pigments). A systematic test of every possible two-band and three-band normalized difference between optical indices was then performed, and the coincidental correlation with chlorophyll-b (absent in cyanobacteria) was used as an indicator of non-specificity. Two-band indices were shown to suffer from non-specificity issues and could not yield strong and specific relationships with phycocyanin or phycoerythrin (maximum R² < 0.5). On the other hand, the three-band modified normalized difference indices yielded strong specific relationships (R² > 0.8).

On the successful use of a simplified model to simulate the succession of toxic cyanobacteria in a hypereutrophic reservoir with a highly fluctuating water level

Many freshwater bodies worldwide that suffer from harmful algal blooms would benefit for their management from a simple ecological model that requires few field data, e.g. for early warning systems. Beyond a certain degree, adding processes to ecological models can reduce model predictive capabilities. In this work, we assess whether a simple ecological model without nutrients is able to describe the succession of cyanobacterial blooms of different species in a hypereutrophic reservoir and help understand the factors that determine these blooms. In our study site, Karaoun Reservoir, Lebanon, cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon ovalisporum and Microcystis aeruginosa alternatively bloom. A simple configuration of the model DYRESM-CAEDYM was used; both cyanobacteria were simulated, with constant vertical migration velocity for A. ovalisporum, with vertical migration velocity dependent on light for M. aeruginosa and with growth limited by light and temperature and not by nutrients for both species. The model was calibrated on two successive years with contrasted bloom patterns and high variations in water level. It was able to reproduce the measurements; it showed a good performance for the water level (root-mean-square error (RMSE) lower than 1 m, annual variation of 25 m), water temperature profiles (RMSE of 0.22-1.41 °C, range 13-28 °C) and cyanobacteria biomass (RMSE of 1-57 μg Chl a L^-1, range 0-206 μg Chl a L^-1). The model also helped understand the succession of blooms in both years. The model results suggest that the higher growth rate of M. aeruginosa during favourable temperature and light conditions allowed it to outgrow A. ovalisporum. Our results show that simple model configurations can be sufficient not only for theoretical works when few major processes can be identified but also for operational applications. This approach could be transposed on other hypereutrophic lakes and reservoirs to describe the competition between dominant phytoplankton species, contribute to early warning systems or be used for management scenarios.

Environmental factors associated with phytoplankton succession in a Mediterranean reservoir with a highly fluctuating water level

Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms have become a worldwide environmental problem. Understanding the mechanisms and processes that control algal blooms is of great concern. The phytoplankton community of Karaoun Reservoir, the largest water body in Lebanon, is poorly studied, as in many freshwater bodies around the Mediterranean Sea. Sampling campaigns were conducted semi-monthly between May 2012 and August 2013 to assess the dynamics of its phytoplankton community in response to changes in physical-chemical and hydrological conditions. Karaoun Reservoir is a monomictic waterbody and strongly stratifies between May and August. Changes in its phytoplankton community were found to be a result of the interplay between water temperature, stratification, irradiance, nutrient availability and water level. Thermal stratification established in spring reduced the growth of diatoms and resulted in their replacement by green algae species when nutrient availability was high and water temperatures lower than 22 °C. At water temperature higher than 25 °C and low nutrient concentrations in summer, blooms of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa occurred. Despite different growth conditions in other lakes and reservoir, cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon ovalisporum dominated at temperatures lower than 23 °C in weakly stratified conditions in early autumn and dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella dominated in mixed conditions, at low light intensity and a water temperature of 19 °C in late autumn. We believe that the information presented in this paper will increase the knowledge about phytoplankton dynamics in the Mediterranean region and contribute to a safer usage of reservoir waters.

Estimating the risk of cyanobacterial occurrence using an index integrating meteorological factors: application to drinking water production

The sudden appearance of toxic cyanobacteria (CB) blooms is still largely unpredictable in waters worldwide. Many post-hoc explanations for CB bloom occurrence relating to physical and biochemical conditions in lakes have been developed. As potentially toxic CB can accumulate in drinking water treatment plants and disrupt water treatment, there is a need for water treatment operators to determine whether conditions are favourable for the proliferation and accumulation of CB in source waters in order to adjust drinking water treatment accordingly. Thus, a new methodology with locally adaptable variables is proposed in order to have a single index, f(p), related to various environmental factors such as temperature, wind speed and direction. The index is used in conjunction with real time monitoring data to determine the probability of CB occurrence in relation to meteorological factors, and was tested at a drinking water intake in Missisquoi Bay, a shallow transboundary bay in Lake Champlain, Québec, Canada. These environmental factors alone were able to explain a maximum probability of 68% that a CB bloom would occur at the drinking water treatment plant. Nutrient limitation also influences CB blooms and intense blooms only occurred when the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to total phosphorus (TP) mass ratio was below 3. Additional monitoring of DIN and TP could be considered for these source waters prone to cyanobacterial blooms to determine periods of favourable growth. Real time monitoring and the use of the index could permit an adequate and timely response to CB blooms in drinking water sources.

Impact of internal waves on the spatial distribution of Planktothrix rubescens (cyanobacteria) in an alpine lake

The vertical and horizontal distribution of the cyanobacterium, Planktothrix rubescens, was studied in a deep alpine lake (Lac du Bourget) in a 2-year monitoring program with 11 sampling points, and a 24-h survey at one sampling station. This species is known to proliferate in the metalimnic layer of numerous deep mesotrophic lakes in temperate areas, and also to produce hepatotoxins. When looking at the distribution of P. rubescens at the scale of the entire lake, we found large variations (up to 10  m) in the depth of the biomass peak in the water column. These variations were closely correlated to isotherm displacements. We also found significant variations in the distribution of the cyanobacterial biomass in the northern and southern parts of the lake. We used a physical modeling approach to demonstrate that two internal wave modes can explain these variations. Internal waves are generated by wind events, but can still be detected several days after the end of these events. Finally, our 24-h survey at one sampling point demonstrated that the V1H1 sinusoidal motion could evolve into nonlinear fronts. All these findings show that internal waves have a major impact on the distribution of P. rubescens proliferating in the metalimnic layer of a deep lake, and that this process could influence the growth of this species by a direct impact on light availability.

Modélisation de l'évolution thermique saisonnière du lac du Bourget

Le lac du Bourget, l'un des principaux lacs alpins situé en France, a fait l'objet en 1981 d'importants travaux d'aménagement en vue de ta restauration de la qualité de ses eaux. Une campagne de mesure portant sur les années 1988-89 a été mise en place afin de faire le point sur l'évolution du lac depuis la fin des travaux.

Un modèle thermique et biogéochimique (phosphore, oxygène, azote) sera utilisé pour synthétiser les connaissances, prévoir l'évolution de la qualité des eaux du lac ainsi que l'influence d'éventuels aménagements complémentaires. Les résultats présentés ici concernent la première étape du projet d'études, la modélisation thermique du lac du Bourget.

Le modèle utilisé est un modèle unidimensionnel, vertical, basé sur l'équation d'advection-diffusion.

L'expression des coefficients de dispersion selon la profondeur reprend celle d'un modèle du lac Léman (Tassin, 1986). Les équations utilisées distinguent l'épilimnion, le métalimnion et l'hypolimnion.

Les résultats présentés montrent que le modèle décrit de façon satisfaisante le cycle thermique annuel et l'évolution inter-annuelle des températures dans le lac du Bourget.

Les profils et les valeurs des coefficients de dispersion calculés sur le lac du Bourget sont proches de ceux obtenus sur d'autres lacs à partir de mesures fines de température ou de concentrations d'isotopes naturels.

Les coefficients de dispersion obtenus pourront donc être utilisés dans la modélisation des substances dissoutes dans le lac.