Diatoms as indicators of long-term nutrient enrichment in metal-contaminated urban lakes from Sudbury, Ontario

Tropea, Amy E.; Paterson, Andrew M.; Keller, W.; Smol, John P.

doi:10.1080/07438141.2011.555935

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In general, increasing DOC trends are mainly observed in acid-sensitive regions 1,2 . Our sediment-inferred long-term trends also show pronounced DOC changes in three well-buffered central Sudbury lakes that likely never acidified 33,34 (Ramsey, McFarlane and Richard lakes; 8–10 km distance to nearest smelter; CaMg* = 242–372 µeq L −1 ; Figs 3 and 6; Supplementary Table S1, Figs S1, S5 and S6). Similarly, significantly increasing stream-water DOC levels have been shown for a base-rich and well-buffered catchment in central Europe 19 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Sudbury lakes show variable acidification and recovery histories because of differences in catchment geology and thus differing acid buffering capacities 33 (Ca 2+ + Mg 2+ concentration (CaMg*, indicating lake/catchment sensitivity to acidification[1]) = 32–372 µeq L −1 ; Supplementary Table S1), or because of direct management actions (e.g., liming in Middle Lake), whereby some lakes did not acidify or acidified at different points in time during the 20 th century (1920s to 1940s; Fig. 6, Supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sediment ages beyond the 210 Pb dating range were estimated based on 2 nd order polynomial extrapolations of the 210 Pb chronologies until ~1780. More specific information regarding lake and watershed characteristics and individual dating results are provided in earlier studies 33,42,45–49 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The browning and re-browning of lakes: Divergent lake-water organic carbon trends linked to acid deposition and climate change

Meyer-Jacob

Michelutti

Paterson

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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102

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Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and water colour are increasing in many inland waters across northern Europe and northeastern North America. This inland-water “browning” has profound physical, chemical and biological repercussions for aquatic ecosystems affecting water quality, biological community structures and aquatic productivity. Potential drivers of this “browning” trend are complex and include reductions in atmospheric acid deposition, changes in land use/cover, increased nitrogen deposition and climate change. However, because of the overlapping impacts of these stressors, their relative contributions to DOC dynamics remain unclear, and without appropriate long-term monitoring data, it has not been possible to determine whether the ongoing “browning” is unprecedented or simply a “re-browning” to pre-industrial DOC levels. Here, we demonstrate the long-term impacts of acid deposition and climate change on lake-water DOC concentrations in low and high acid-deposition areas using infrared spectroscopic techniques on ~200-year-long lake-sediment records from central Canada. We show that acid deposition suppressed naturally higher DOC concentrations during the 20th century, but that a “re-browning” of lakes is now occurring with emissions reductions in formerly high deposition areas. In contrast, in low deposition areas, climate change is forcing lakes towards new ecological states, as lake-water DOC concentrations now often exceed pre-industrial levels.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The browning and re-browning of lakes: Divergent lake-water organic carbon trends linked to acid deposition and climate change

Meyer-Jacob

Michelutti

Paterson

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

Self Cite

102

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“…This conclusion is not surprising perhaps, since shoreline development is not heavy on any of the Extensive lakes and most have none, although many lakes in south-central Ontario have declined in TP even with increases in human activity (Eimers et al 2009) from causes that are not clear. More heavily urbanized lakes in Sudbury have shown evidence of cultural eutrophication based on comparisons with background conditions estimated by hindcasts from watershed TP models and inferred from paleolimnological analyses of diatoms in sediment cores (Tropea et al 2011). Lake and watershed characteristics do not point to any obvious explanation for the apparent decreases (Sans Chambre, Telfer) or increases (Bob, Klock, Tillie, Crooked) in a few of the Extensive lakes.…”

Section: Total Phosphorus and Nitratementioning

confidence: 97%

“…While lakewater metal (Cu, Ni) concentrations have also declined greatly in Sudbury area lakes, residual metal contamination in water and sediments persists in the lakes closest to Sudbury, and will likely continue for many years (Nriagu et al 1998;Keller et al 1999b). Some of the lakes close to Sudbury are also affected by urban stresses such as road salting and nutrient inputs from shoreline development Pearson et al 2002;Tropea et al 2011), affecting metal toxicity and complicating patterns of recovery (Celis-Salgado et al 2016).…”

Section: Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of acidified Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, lakes: a multi-decade synthesis and update

2019

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The Sudbury region of northeastern Ontario, Canada, provides one of the world’s best examples of the resilience of aquatic ecosystems after reductions in atmospheric contaminant deposition. Thousands of lakes around the Sudbury metal smelters were badly damaged by acid deposition. Lakes closest to the smelters were also contaminated by metal particulates. However, large reductions in atmospheric SO2 and metal emissions starting in the early 1970s have led to widespread chemical improvements in these lakes, and recovery has been observed for various aquatic biota. Studies of Sudbury-area lakes are advancing our understanding of chemical and biological lake recovery; however, recovery is a complicated process and much remains to be learned. Biological recovery has often been slow to follow chemical recovery, and it has become apparent that the recovery of lakes from acidification is closely linked to interactions with other large-scale environmental stressors like climate change and Ca declines. Thus, in our multiple-stressor world, recovery may not bring individual lakes back to their exact former state. However, with time, substantial natural biological recovery toward typical lake communities can be reasonably expected for most but not necessarily all biota. For organisms with limited dispersal ability, particularly fish, human assistance may be necessary to re-establish typical communities. In lakes where food webs have been severely altered, re-establishment of typical diverse fish communities may in fact be an important element aiding the recovery of other important components of aquatic ecosystems including zooplankton and benthic macroinvertebrates. In the lakes closest to the smelters, where historically watersheds as well as lakes were severely damaged, the recovery of aquatic systems will be closely linked to ongoing terrestrial recovery and rehabilitation, particularly through the benefits of increased inputs of terrestrially derived organic matter. The dramatic lake recovery observed in the Sudbury area points to a brighter future for these lakes. However, continued monitoring will be needed to determine future changes and help guide the management and protection of Sudbury-area lakes in this multiple-stressor age.

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Multiple environmental variables influence diatom assemblages across an arsenic gradient in 33 subarctic lakes near abandoned gold mines

et al. 2019

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Diatoms as indicators of long-term nutrient enrichment in metal-contaminated urban lakes from Sudbury, Ontario

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

The browning and re-browning of lakes: Divergent lake-water organic carbon trends linked to acid deposition and climate change

The browning and re-browning of lakes: Divergent lake-water organic carbon trends linked to acid deposition and climate change

Recovery of acidified Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, lakes: a multi-decade synthesis and update

Multiple environmental variables influence diatom assemblages across an arsenic gradient in 33 subarctic lakes near abandoned gold mines

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