Intermittent meromixis controls the trophic state of warming deep lakes.

ABSTRACT: Vertical mixing modulates nutrient dynamics in lakes. However, surface warming reduces the range of vertical mixing and the probability of full circulation events. Important consequences of reduced vertical mixing include the sequestration of phosphorus (P) within a stagnant zone and the promotion of oligotrophication. Nevertheless, warming-induced shifts from full to partial mixing (meromixis) are not permanent and are partially reversible during exceptionally cold or windy winters. In this study, we investigated how intermittent meromixis affects lake P budgets. We examined the P cycle of a perialpine lake with variable mixing depths by pairing sedimentation and release flux measurements with sedimentary archives. We found that the amount of dissolved P surpassed that of the potentially

SUBMITTER: Lau MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7395808 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature