Pathways of Trace Elements in Arctic Lake Ecosystems. Final Report

摘要

The identification and delineation of the major pathways and processes involved in the movement of minor elements in cold dominated aquatic systems, together with an assessment of the function of minor elements in these systems, were the overall goals of this project. The work consisted of a mixture of laboratory-oriented process studies and field observations in the natural environment. Because of the primitive level of available information on these cold dominated aquatic systems, it often was necessary to broaden the investigations to include acquisition of more general aquatic data as background for the specific cycling studies. This information included concentrations of major cations (Ca, Na, K, and Mg), minor cations (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, and occasionally Pb), various nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, particulate solids, turbidity, dissolved carbon and water color, pH, alkalinity, primary productivity, chlorophyll a, and redox and temperature profiles. Intensive field studies (including fairly detailed seasonal descriptions) were conducted primarily on Smith and Ace Lakes in the Alaskan interior near Fairbanks and on arctic coastal plain lakes near Point Barrow. Additional field work was conducted on arctic coastal plain lakes near Cape Simpson and near Prudhoe Bay. Numerous subarctic lakes were sampled on an infrequent basis in interior Alaska. Several field expeditions also were made to the Alaska Peninsula for the study of the small coastal lakes and Izembek Lagoon. (ERA citation 04:014540)