Lake Brienz Project: An interdisciplinary catchment-to-lake study

Wüest, Alfred; Zeh, Markus; Ackerman, Josef Daniel

doi:10.1007/s00027-007-0016-0

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Specifically, hydropower operations have induced a shift of the particle inputs from summer to winter and have minimized peak discharges (i.e. summer high-flow events) as well as the intrusion depth of the Aare River waters in Lake Brienz (Finger et al 2006;Wüest et al 2007). Anselmetti et al (2007) furthermore estimated that only 39 kt/year of finegrained (\4 lm) sediment (of the total 271 kt/year of solid particles that entered the Grimsel reservoirs on average during the last 71 years) were transported downstream to Lake Brienz, while 232 kt/year of mostly coarse particles were retained.…”

Section: Reservoirs Built Along the Aare Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the riverine sediment transport in the European Alps, which is primarily controlled by environmental factors (climate, vegetation cover and topography) influencing the rate and process of weathering, has been significantly altered by the extensive construction of reservoirs and hydroelectric dams that drastically changed hydrological patterns and reduced suspended sediment loads (Vörösmarty et al 2003;Finger et al 2006;. Therefore, attempts at understanding present-day riverine discharge patterns based on river-borne sediment material, or the reconstruction of past climate and runoff variations based on the accumulation of lacustrine sediments, should be applied with caution due to possible human impact on the terrestrial elemental fluxes at the scale of the drainage basin (Walling et al 1998;Yang et al 2005;Wüest et al 2007). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the numerous hydropower dams constructed upstream of Lake Brienz in the highalpine Grimsel area (up to 2,300 m a.s.l; Fig. 1) have strikingly altered the seasonality of the river flow (shift of the particle input from summer to winter) and have considerably reduced the overall particle input from upstream glaciers to Lake Brienz (Wüest et al 2007). In addition to these hydropower operations, the Aare River, which is the main water supplier of the High Rhine River, was redirected into Lake Biel in 1878 and has been regulated by the Hagneck hydroelectric dam since 1900, in an effort to prevent flooding of the nearby area called ''Seeland'' (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

et al. 2013

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Terrigenous (Sc, Fe, K, Mg, Al, Ti) and anthropogenic (Pb and Cu) element fluxes were measured in a new sediment core from Lake Biel (Switzerland) and in previously well-documented cores from two upstream lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun). These three large perialpine lakes are connected by the Aare River, which is the main tributary to the High Rhine River. Major and trace element analysis of the sediment cores by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) shows that the site of Lake Brienz receives three times more terrigenous elements than the two other studied sites, given by the role of Lake Brienz as the first major sediment sink located in the foothills of the Alps. Overall, the terrigenous fluxes reconstructed at the three studied sites suggest that the construction of sediment-trapping reservoirs during the twentieth century noticeably decreased the riverine suspended sediment load at a regional scale. In fact, the extensive river damming that occurred in the upstream watershed catchment (between ca. 1930 and 1950 and up to 2,300 m a.s.l.) and that significantly modified seasonal suspended sediment loads and riverine water discharge patterns to downstream lakes noticeably diminished the long-range transport of (fine) terrigenous particles by the Aare River. Concerning the transport of anthropogenic pollutants, the lowest lead enrichment factors (EFs Pb) were measured in the upstream course of the Aare River at the site of Lake Brienz, whereas the metal pollution was highest in downstream Lake Biel, with the maximum values measured between 1940 and 1970 (EF Pb [ 3). The following recorded regional reduction in aquatic Pb pollution started about 15 years before the actual introduction of unleaded gasoline in 1985. Furthermore, the radiometric dating of the sediment core from Lake Biel identifies three events of hydrological transport of artificial radionuclides released by the nuclear reactor of Mühleberg located at more than 15 km upstream of Lake Biel for the time period 1970-2000.

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Section: Reservoirs Built Along the Aare Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

et al. 2013

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“…by enlarging their volume with dams or artificially increasing their watershed by water diversion), represent common aquatic ecosystems in the Alps, thus being important for both water and landscape management (e.g. Wilhelm 1994;Wüest et al 2007;Marnezy 2008). The majority of these modified lakes, including those at lower altitude in Alpine valleys, receive large water inputs diverted from catchment areas that include headwaters and glaciers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of phytoplankton patterns in two modified lakes with contrasting hydrological features

2009

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Hydrological management represents one of the main factors controlling physical and chemical characteristics as well as biodiversity and productivity of planktonic communities in artificial and modified lakes. In Alpine piedmont reservoirs, which often receive large water inputs from high altitude watersheds, control operated by hydrological regime over ecological processes is also mediated by other related variables such as water temperature and turbulence, and load of inorganic suspended solids. This contribution reports on results obtained from a comparative study on the impact of hydrological regime on phytoplankton patterns in two modified piedmont lakes of different size and hydrology located in the NE Italian Alps: Lake Santa Croce (V = 147 9 10 6 km 3 ) and Lake Toblino (V = 5.7 9 10 6 km 3 ). Phytoplankton of both lakes was characterised by a pronounced dominance of diatoms, accompanied by cryptophytes and green algae. The mesotrophic Lake Santa Croce showed a typical seasonal succession of dominant groups, while phytoplankton growth in the eutrophic Lake Toblino was variable and showed pronounced pulses in relation to dramatic changes in the hydrological regime. The comparative study of phytoplankton, based on morpho-functional classification and application of multivariate analyses (non-metric multidimensional scaling, principal components analysis, and redundancy analysis), showed that hydrological regime affected phytoplankton growth in the two lakes both directly, i.e. through renewal time, and indirectly, i.e. regulating thermal conditions in Lake Santa Croce and nutrient availability in both lakes. Nevertheless, effectiveness of hydrological constraints largely depended on lake size and morphology, being more pronounced in the shallower and smaller Lake Toblino.

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“…In contrast to the Lütschine, the hydraulic regime of the Aare was significantly modified during the 20 th century by an extensive damming system used for production of electricity. A more detailed description of Lake Brienz and its tributaries is available in Wüest et al (2007).…”

Section: Study Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of inorganic colloidal particles in Lake Brienz

Chanudet

Filella

2007

Aquat. Sci.

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Abstract. The fate of colloidal particles in Lake Brienz and its two main tributaries, the Aare and Lütschine Rivers, was studied over a period of more than a year. Lake colloid loads from the unmodified Lütschine fluctuated significantly across seasons. The highest loads are in summer due to glacier melting. Colloid loads from the Aare reflected the seasonal water use by upstream hydropower plants. A significant number of mineral particles, even outside the theoretical nonsettling range, remain in suspension in the epilimnion of Lake Brienz in summer because of the mineralogical nature and shape of the particles and the high input loads. Only 1730 of the 16,800 tons of colloidal particles that entered the lake during the period from 1 June 2004 -31 July 2005 were exported through the lake outlet. The remainder was presumably lost in the lake through coagulation-sedimentation processes. Coagulation properties of non-fractionated colloid samples in quiescent conditions were studied in the laboratory both in the absence and presence of different organic compounds representative of natural organic matter. Lake Brienz colloids coagulate slowly, as expected from particles (mainly phyllosilicates) bearing a net negative surface charge. Slightly higher coagulation rates were recorded in March and April during the spring algal bloom, which suggests that colloid coagulation is enhanced by carbohydrates. This effect was confirmed in laboratory experiments. However, the concentration of natural organic matter in Lake Brienz is so low that it is not having any significant effect on the fate of inorganic colloids.

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Lake Brienz Project: An interdisciplinary catchment-to-lake study

Cited by 22 publications

References 15 publications

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

Comparative analysis of phytoplankton patterns in two modified lakes with contrasting hydrological features

The fate of inorganic colloidal particles in Lake Brienz

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