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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #171959
Title: PRELIMINARY ESTIMATION OF SEDIMENT PHOSPHORUS FLUX IN BEAVER LAKE, NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Author
item SEN, SUMIT - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item Haggard, Brian
item CHAUBEY, INDRAJEET - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item BRYE, KRIS - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item MATLOCK, MARTY - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item COSTELLO, TOM - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Submitted to: Proceedings of American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2004
Publication Date: 8/1/2004
Citation: Sen, S., Haggard, B.E., Chaubey, I., Brye, K.R., Matlock, M.D., Costello, T.A. 2004. Preliminary estimation of sediment phosphorus flux in Beaver Lake, Northwest Arkansas. In: Proceedings of American Society of Agricultural Engineers, August 1-4, 2004, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 2004 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Phosphorus (P) release from bottom sediments is an important source, potentially enhancing and maintaining algae growth in lakes and reservoirs. To date, the amount of internal P release from bottom sediments at Beaver Lake, Northwest Arkansas, has not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of bottom sediments in Beaver Lake to release P. Specifically, sediment P flux was quantified in Beaver Lake under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at three sites in the reservoir: the lacustrine, transitional and riverine zones. Six intact sediment cores were collected from each zone during summer and fall 2003, and spring 2004. The sediment cores were incubated at room temperature (22C) in dark for 21 d. Soluble reactive P (SRP) release rates were measured under aerobic and anaerobic conditions for each zone. The results suggested that P release from sediments increased under anaerobic conditions. The average P flux from these three sites in Beaver Lake was 0.14 mg m**-2 d**-1 under aerobic conditions and was 0.57 mg m**-2 d**-1 under anaerobic conditions. The maximum P flux (1.79 mg m**-2 d**-1 for fall 2003) under anaerobic conditions was observed in the transitional zone during this investigation. Internal P load under aerobic conditions was equivalent to 3 Mg P yr**-1 and was estimated equivalent to 12 Mg P yr**-1 under anaerobic conditions. Hence, the average load was equivalent to 15 Mg P yr**-1. Beaver Lake has a surface area of 114 km**2; these estimates use average sediment P release rates and water column at the sediment-water interface was aerobic for six months and anaerobic for six months. Internal P load from Beaver Lake bottom sediments was almost 20% of the external P load (75 Mg P yr**-1). The estimated internal load from this study may be overestimated, because the lacustrine zone of the Beaver Lake accounts for a majority of the surface area and has shown much less sediment P release.