Chemical and Mineralogical Characteristics of Eutrophic Lake Sediments1
- C. R. Frink2
Detailed chemical and mineralogical analyses of the sediments of an eutrophic lake revealed that most of the characteristics usually associated with high productivity increased considerably with increasing depth of water. Thus, the center of the lake is enriched in clay, organic matter, N, and P when compared with the sediments around the edge or the soils in the watershed. Most of the changes in physical characteristics are attributed to size sorting during transport and deposition within the lake. A number of chemical changes also occur as sediment is transported from the acid watershed to the neutral lake environment. Chief among these chemical weathering processes are the dechloritization of Al-interlayered vermiculite and its subsequent conversion to illite, as well as a shift of stored phosphates from Al-P and Fe-P to Ca-P. Thus, these observations help to describe the process of eutrophication and serve as a basis for further analysis of the nutrient-supplying ability of lake sediments.Please view the pdf by using the Full Text (PDF) link under 'View' to the left.
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