17 Lake Research and Monitoring Networks in the Northeast

Sunday, 18 March 2018
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Emerald Ballroom I

IS VERMONT LOSING ITS OLIGOTROPHIC LAKES?

Paper number: 17-2
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 1:50 PM – 2:10 PM

Authors

Abstract

Results from EPA’s National Lake Assessments suggest that phosphorus is increasing in lakes and ponds in the United States on a continental scale. Particularly troubling is the suggestion that the number of oligotrophic lakes decreased dramatically during the study period 2007-2012. The State of Vermont has been monitoring spring turnover total phosphorus in lakes over 20 acres for the past 40 years. We used linear mixed effects models to examine change in spring phosphorus concentration in 153 lakes, and to compare rates of change in lakes with different initial trophic status. The results suggest that while eutrophic lakes as a group have declined slightly in total phosphorus, mesotrophic and oligotrophic lakes have increased in total phosphorus. We estimate that spring total phosphorus has increased significantly in nearly all oligotrophic lakes in the state.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 50, No. 2

doi: 10.1130/abs/2018NE-311176

© Copyright 2018 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.