Recent onset of eutrophication in Lake Izabal, the largest water body in Guatemala

Obrist‐Farner, Jonathan; Brenner, Mark; Curtis, Jason H.; Kenney, William F.; Salvinelli, Carlo

doi:10.1007/s10933-019-00091-3

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The lake is fresh and low-lying, with a water surface presently ∼1.5 m above mean sea level. The lake has a surface area of 672 km 2 , a maximum depth of 15 m, and discharges to the Caribbean Sea via the Dulce River (Brinson and Nordlie, 1975;Obrist-Farner et al, 2019). The sediment record of Lake Izabal enabled us to constrain the timing of Early Holocene marine flooding and provided an estimate of SLR during the 8.2 ka event.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New estimates of the magnitude of the sea-level jump during the 8.2 ka event

Obrist‐Farner

Brenner

Stone

et al. 2021

Geology

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We analyzed sediment cores from coastal Lake Izabal, Guatemala, to infer Holocene biogeochemical changes in the lake. At ca. 8370 calibrated yr B.P. (cal. yr B.P.), marine waters entered the lake, which presently lies ~38 km from the Caribbean coast. Temporal correlation between Early Holocene drainage of high-latitude Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway (in North America) and marine flooding of Lake Izabal suggests a causal link between the two processes. Our data indicate a relative sea-level jump of 2.60 ± 0.88 m, which is larger than previous estimates of sea-level rise during the 8.2 ka event. The inferred sea-level jump, however, cannot be explained solely by the volume of water released during drainage of Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway. Instead, we propose that previous studies underestimated the magnitude of Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway discharge, or that additional meltwater sources contributed to global sea-level rise at that time.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New estimates of the magnitude of the sea-level jump during the 8.2 ka event

Obrist‐Farner

Brenner

Stone

et al. 2021

Geology

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“…Mass mortalities of aquatic ectotherms, or fish kills, during summer heatwaves are becoming a new norm, and are often associated with eutrophic conditions [14,[34][35][36]. Understanding how eutrophication interacts with elevated temperatures is, therefore, key to preventing further loss of aquatic life.…”

Section: Heatwave and Warming Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding climate change to the mix: responses of aquatic ectotherms to the combined effects of eutrophication and warming

Rodgers

2021

Biol. Lett.

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The threat of excessive nutrient enrichment, or eutrophication, is intensifying across the globe as climate change progresses, presenting a major management challenge. Alterations in precipitation patterns and increases in temperature are increasing nutrient loadings in aquatic habitats and creating conditions that promote the proliferation of cyanobacterial blooms. The exacerbating effects of climate warming on eutrophication are well established, but we lack an in-depth understanding of how aquatic ectotherms respond to eutrophication and warming in tandem. Here, I provide a brief overview and critique of studies exploring the cumulative impacts of eutrophication and warming on aquatic ectotherms, and provide forward direction using mechanistically focused, multi-threat experiments to disentangle complex interactions. Evidence to date suggests that rapid warming will exacerbate the negative effects of eutrophication on aquatic ectotherms, but gradual warming will induce physiological remodelling that provides protection against nutrients and hypoxia. Moving forward, research will benefit from a greater focus on unveiling cause and effect mechanisms behind interactions and designing treatments that better mimic threat dynamics in nature. This approach will enable robust predictions of species responses to ongoing eutrophication and climate warming and enable the integration of climate warming into eutrophication management policies.

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“…The isotopic compositions of these elements can provide source and process-related information for both modern and past depositional environments (Casciotti 2016;DeNiro and Epstein 1978;Mettam and Zerkle 2021;Miyake and Wada 1967;Ohkouchi, et al, 2015;Sigman and Casciotti 2001). Nitrogen stable isotope (δ 15 N) composition in sedimentary archives are used to infer changes in the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle, water column redox, anoxia/euxinia, and nutrient conditions in past marine and coastal environments (e.g., Sigman and Casciotti, 2001;Wang et al, 2018;Cox et al, 2019;Davis et al, 2019;Isaji et al, 2019;Obrist-Farner et al, 2019;Tuite et al, 2019;Zhu et al, 2020). The stable isotope composition of carbon (δ 13 C) in marine sedimentary archives, including both carbonates and organic sediments, is also interpreted to reflect aquatic productivity and carbon cycling from local to global scales, as well as to assess the relative contributions of terrestrial and marine organic matter, and marine vs. freshwater mixing in past aquatic environments (e.g., Popp et al, 1997;Meyers and Lallier-Verges 1999;Wilson et al, 2005;Lamb et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

N and C Isotope Variations Along an Extreme Eutrophication and Salinity Gradient in the Coorong Lagoon, South Australia

et al. 2022

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The Coorong Lagoon is a unique hydrological and depositional system at the terminus of the Murray–Darling Basin, the largest river system in Australia. It exhibits large salinity, nutrient, and organic matter gradients, providing a modern analogue to study and validate the use of δ15N and δ13C as tracers of past and contemporary geochemical cycles in estuarine environments. To this end, water and surface sediment samples were analyzed for particulate organic nitrogen (PON) and carbon (POC) concentrations, and the respective δ15N and δ13C signatures of particulate nitrogen and carbon. PON and POC exhibited positive relationships to chlorophyll-a, indicating the dominance of phytoplankton production upon suspended organic matter. There was also a general trend of increasing δ15N of PON (δ15NPON) values and decreasing δ13C of particulate carbon (δ13CPC) values with increasing salinity and eutrophication in the restricted South Lagoon. In a multiple linear regression for δ15NPON, the best two predictors in combination are PON and C:N molar ratio, highlighting the importance of productivity and the type or source of organic matter. For δ13CPC, the best two predictors are total dissolved phosphorus and latitude, suggesting influences from productivity and proximity to the ocean. Sediment δ15N values across the Coorong Lagoon overlap with the δ15NPON in the water column, suggesting that PON derived from algal material represents the main source of nitrogen to lagoon sediments. We hypothesize that limited N loss via denitrification leads to PON being recycled almost exclusively to ammonium, due to low rates of nitrification and dominance of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). We propose that preferential volatilization of 14N in ammonia increases the δ15N of ammonium assimilated by phytoplankton, thereby increasing the δ15N within suspended organic matter and surface sediment in the South Lagoon. By contrast, the gradient exhibited in δ13CPC data was countered by a relatively constant sedimentary organic carbon δ13C. Data from the Coorong, therefore, suggest that δ15N values in sediments can be used to infer palaeoproductivity in this hypereutrophic and hypersaline depositional environment, however, the measured δ13CPC may be influenced by δ13CDIC or preferential loss of 13C during sedimentation that alter the sedimentary δ13C record of organic carbon.

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Recent onset of eutrophication in Lake Izabal, the largest water body in Guatemala

Cited by 21 publications

References 38 publications

New estimates of the magnitude of the sea-level jump during the 8.2 ka event

New estimates of the magnitude of the sea-level jump during the 8.2 ka event

Adding climate change to the mix: responses of aquatic ectotherms to the combined effects of eutrophication and warming

N and C Isotope Variations Along an Extreme Eutrophication and Salinity Gradient in the Coorong Lagoon, South Australia

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