Lake, alpine

Alpine lake at 2200-m altitude in the southern Swiss Alps. Its dissolved A1(III) concentration at pH6 = 600 nM. 

Kock, G., R. Hofer, and S. Wograth. 1995a. Accumulation of trace metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from oligotrophic Alpine lakes relation to alkalinity. Canad. Jour. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52 2367-2376. 

Among arthropods, pyrophosphate granules isolated from barnacles have the capability to bind and effectively detoxify silver and other metals under natural conditions (Pullen and Rainbow 1991). In a Colorado alpine lake, silver concentrations in caddisflies and chironomid larvae usually reflected silver concentrations in sediments seston, however, showed a high correlation with lake water silver concentrations from 20 days earlier (Freeman 1979). 

Alpine lake, Colorado, 1973-74. Silver iodide (43 kg), equivalent to 19.7 kg silver, released into system from local cloud seeding practices between 1963 and 1973 Lake water, 1973 vs. 1974... 

Freeman, R.A. 1979. Ecological kinetics of silver in an alpine lake ecosystem. Pages 342-358 in L.L. Marking and R.A. Kimerle (eds.). Aquatic Toxicology. Proceedings of the Second Annual Symposium on Aquatic Toxicology. ASTM special technical publication 667. Amer. Soc. Test. Mater., Philadelphia, PA 19103. 

After the Chernobyl accident, radiocesium isotopes were also elevated in trees and lichens bordering an alpine lake in Scandinavia and in lake sediments, invertebrates, and fishes (Table 32.18). Radiocesium levels in muscle of resident brown trout (Salmo trutta) remained elevated for at least 2 years (Brittain etal. 1991). People consuming food near this alpine lake derived about 90% of their effective dose equivalent from the consumption of freshwater fish, reindeer meat, and milk. The average effective dose equivalent of this group during the next 50 years is estimated at 6 to 9 mSv with a changed diet and 8 to 12 mSv without any dietary changes (Brittain et al. 1991). 

As discussed in previous subchapters, the rate of the photochemical reductive dissolution of iron(III)(hydr)oxides depends on the concentration and type of surface complexes present and on the light intensity and its energy. Because the light intensity varies diurnally, also a diurnal variation in the iron(II) concentration can be expected in surface waters. This has been observed in acidic waters (McKnight and Bencala, 1988 Sulzberger et al., 1990). Fig. 10.17 shows such a diurnal variation in the concentration of dissolved Fe(II) in a slightly acidic alpine lake (Lake Cristallina) of Switzerland. 

Lake samples are more similar to the glacier samples than to fresh samples obviously adipocere formation is similar in glaciers and a deep alpine lake. 

Steingruber SM, Colombo L (2010) Effect of acid deposition on chemistry and biology of high Alpine lakes. In Bundi U (ed.) Alpine Waters. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol. 6. Springer, Heidelberg... 

Effect of Acid Deposition on Chemistry and Biology of High-Altitude Alpine Lakes... 

Acidification Effects on High-Altitude Alpine Lakes 2.1 Description of the Study Site... 

Average Surface Water Chemistry of 20 High-Altitude Alpine Lakes in the Period 2000-2004... 

The chemistry of Alpine lakes is the result of numerous physical, chemical and biological reactions occurring in the catchment. These are influenced by many parameters like deposition, catchment area and slope, watershed surface type (vegetation, bare rock), soil, geology and temperature. 

Table 2 Average surface water concentrations measured between 2000 and 2004 in 20 Alpine lakes. Average values with some or all single values below the quantification limit were preceded with <... 

Fig. 5 (a) Measured average pH vs. logarithms of bicarbonate (= measured Aik) without consideration of aluminium, (b) Measured average pH vs. logarithms of bicarbonate (= measured Aik) added with concentrations of aluminium species for 20 Alpine lakes in the period 2000-2004... 

In order to verify whether atmospheric deposition directly affects surface water chemistry of high-altitude Alpine lakes, trend analyses were performed for 20 mountain lakes with low alkalinity on the key variables involved in acidification and recovery alkalinity (Gran alkalinity), pH, sulphate, nitrate, base cations (calcium + magnesium). The analysis covers the period 1980-2004 and allows a comparison between atmospheric inputs and surface water quahty. 

Table 3 Results from trend analyses of 20 Alpine lakes monitored between 1980-2004. For each site are indicated the range of the number of data points (depending on the parameter), the calculated trends (Sen s method), the p-value from the Mann-Kendall test and for each parameter the median trend and the number of sites with significant positive or negative or no trend are shown... 

Fig. 9 trends vs. average concentrations during the period 1980-2004 for 20 Alpine lakes... 

Table 4 Number of samples, organisms, taxa, EPT index, number of taxa for each Braukmann and Biss (B B) index and pH in the emissary and of five Alpine lakes during 2005 and 2006. LI, LS, LT, LSt, LB represent Laghetto Inferiore, Laghetto Superiore, Lago di Tome, Lago del Starlaresc da Sgiof, Lago Bianco...

---