Influence of artificial whole-lake aeration in Lake Carmi, VT
Conference Year
2024
Abstract
Lake Carmi, VT, an upstream tributary of Lake Champlain, has a long history of eutrophication. In July 2019, a whole-lake aeration system was deployed in Carmi to oxygenate bottom waters and control sediment P release. However, pre-aeration nutrient enrichment bioassays indicated phytoplankton were N or NP co-limited, demonstrating a need to better understand the role of N in Carmi. Preliminary analyses of bioassays repeated in 2022 and 2023 indicate cyanobacteria are more often N-limited than the phytoplankton community in summer and that organic N may limit phytoplankton growth when inorganic N species do not.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Mindy Morales-Williams
Status
Graduate
Student College
Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources
Program/Major
Natural Resources
Primary Research Category
Life Sciences
Influence of artificial whole-lake aeration in Lake Carmi, VT
Lake Carmi, VT, an upstream tributary of Lake Champlain, has a long history of eutrophication. In July 2019, a whole-lake aeration system was deployed in Carmi to oxygenate bottom waters and control sediment P release. However, pre-aeration nutrient enrichment bioassays indicated phytoplankton were N or NP co-limited, demonstrating a need to better understand the role of N in Carmi. Preliminary analyses of bioassays repeated in 2022 and 2023 indicate cyanobacteria are more often N-limited than the phytoplankton community in summer and that organic N may limit phytoplankton growth when inorganic N species do not.