National Center for Water Quality Research (NCWQR)
Published January 17, 2014 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Assessing and addressing the re-eutrophication of Lake Erie: Central basin hypoxia

Authors/Creators

  • 1. University of Michigan
  • 2. Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • 3. Cardno ENTRIX
  • 4. Grace College
  • 5. Oregon State University
  • 6. The Ohio State University
  • 7. LimnoTech
  • 8. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
  • 9. U.S. Geological Survey
  • 10. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • 11. Korea Environment Institute
  • 12. Purdue University
  • 13. Ohio Department of Natural Resources
  • 14. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
  • 15. Carnegie Institute for Science
  • 16. National Center for Water Quality Research
  • 17. LimnoTech and University of Michigan
  • 18. Carnegie Institute for Science and University of Michigan

Description

ABSTRACT

Relieving phosphorus loading is a key management tool for controlling Lake Erie eutrophication. During the 1960s and 1970s, increased phosphorus inputs degraded water quality and reduced central basin hypolimnetic oxygen levels which, in turn, eliminated thermal habitat vital to cold-water organisms and contributed to the extirpation of important benthic macroinvertebrate prey species for fishes. In response to load reductions initiated in 1972, Lake Erie responded quickly with reduced water-column phosphorus concentrations, phytoplankton biomass, and bottom-water hypoxia (dissolved oxygen <2 mg/l). Since themid-1990s, cyanobacteria blooms increased and extensive hypoxia and benthic algae returned. We synthesize recent research leading to guidance for addressing this re-eutrophication, with particular emphasis on central basin hypoxia. We document recent trends in key eutrophication-related properties, assess their likely ecological impacts, and develop load response curves to guide revised hypoxia-based loading targets called for in the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Reducing central basin hypoxic area to levels observed in the early 1990s (ca. 2000 km2) requires cutting total phosphorus loads by 46% from the 2003–2011 average or reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus loads by 78% from the 2005–2011 average. Reductions to these levels are also protective of fish habitat. We provide potential approaches for achieving those new loading targets, and suggest that recent load reduction recommendations focused on western basin cyanobacteria blooms may not be sufficient to reduce central basin hypoxia to 2000 km2.

Notes

This is publication 13-005 of the NOAA Center for Coastal Sponsored Research EcoFore Lake Erie project, publication # 1681 from NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, and publication 1830 of the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center. Support for portions of the work reported in this manuscript was provided by the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research under awards NA07OAR4320006, NA10NOS4780218, and NA09NOS4780234; by NSF grants 0644648, 1313897, 1039043 and 0927643; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Ohio Division of Wildlife Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration grant F-69-P. The Heidelberg tributary datasets have been supported by many agencies over their 38-year history, including USDA-NIFA, USDA-NRCS, the State of Ohio, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Joyce Foundation, the Andersons, The Fertilizer Institute, and, in the past, the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Lake Erie Central Basin data sets used for hypoxia modeling came primarily from U.S. EPA-GLNPO and Environment Canada monitoring programs. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Dedication This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. David Dolan, one of the authors. His untimely death is a great loss to the entire Great Lakes community. We will miss his friendship, insights, important and continuing contributions to the International Association of Great Lakes Research, and unfailing dedication to ensure that our community and the world both understand and have access to the changing sediment and nutrient loads to the Great Lakes. Dave was truly a "Great Lakes Man".

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