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PRODUCTION PROCESSES UNDER THE ICE IN LAKE ST. CLAIR: 1. IRRADIATION AND TEMPERATURE 1
Author(s) -
Wallen D. G.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1977.tb02025.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , bay , phytoplankton , hydrology (agriculture) , plume , chlorophyll a , stratification (seeds) , oceanography , atmospheric sciences , nutrient , geology , meteorology , geography , ecology , chemistry , biology , seed dormancy , biochemistry , germination , botany , dormancy , geotechnical engineering
Data from three ice‐covered stations in Lake St. Clair were collected to evaluate the effect of ice and related variables on phytoplankton production. Primary production, phytoplankton standing crop, irradiation and temperature were measured from January to April, 1973. Mean production values ranged from 0.74 mgC/m 3 /h at station 1 near Mitchell Bay to 3.4 mgC/m 3 /h in waters at stations 2 and 3 below the Thames River mouth. A similar pattern was observed in chlorophyll a concentration, the mean values ranged from 0.63 μg/1 at station 1 to 2.1 and 1.3 μg/1 at stations 2 and 3. Temperature stratification occurred at the three stations. However, the temperatures at station 1 were consistently more than a degree warmer than at the other two stations. Irradiation was low, having a mean value at the sampling depth of .075 ly/min. The data is interpreted to indicate that the ice‐bound phytoplankton were adapted to the low irradiation. It is suggested that the variation observed between stations is related to the formation of a plume by the Thames River and differences in nutrient loads carried by the St. Clair and Thames Rivers.