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1. Holocene humid periods of the Levant – evidence from Dead Sea lake-levels

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108312  

   Goldsmith, Yonaton ; Cohen, Ofer ; Stein, Mordechai ; Torfstein, Adi ; Kiro, Yael ; Kushnir, Yochanan ; Bartov, Yuval ; Ben-Moshe, Liran ; Frumkin, Amos ; Lensky, Nadav G. ; et al ( October 2023 , Quaternary Science Reviews)

   Water availability in the Levant is predicted to decline due to global warming in the upcoming decades and is expected to substantially impact the region. Determining the long-term natural rainfall variability in this region is essential for understanding the regional hydroclimatic response to external climate forcings and for contex- tualizing future hydroclimate changes. The Dead Sea (DS), located in the southern Levant, is a closed-basin lake whose size varies as a function of water availability. Reconstructing DS lake-level variations through time provides a quantitative measure of the natural hydroclimate variability and can inform on the local hydroclimate response to changes in global climate. Here, we constructed an updated lake-level history of the Holocene DS by: 1) studying lake high-stands derived from a series of new cores collected in the DS southern basin, 2) re-dating of the two major Holocene high-stand exposures, and 3) compiling all previously published ages of Holocene DS lake-level markers (n = 296 radiocarbon ages). The results show that the early (10–6.1 kyr cal BP) and late Holocene (3.6–0 kyr cal BP) in the DS were predominantly wet albeit punctuated by dry intervals, whereas the middle Holocene (6.1–3.6 kyr cal BP) was most likely relatively dry. This pattern of two Holocene humid in- tervals is also evident in distillation records derived from Levant speleothem caves (which represent the inte- grated magnitude of rainout from the vapor source to the caves), indicating that rainfall intensity and total water availability were correlated throughout the Holocene. These two humid intervals occurred during high and low summer insolation conditions, suggesting that they were modulated by different climatic mechanisms. The predicted future drying in the Levant is of similar magnitude to the natural hydroclimate variability and thus, it is crucial to assess whether the anthropogenic drying is in- or out-of phase with the natural climate variability. 

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2. Remote Sensing of Water Quantity and Quality in Geospatial Education: Lake Sidney Lanier, Georgia, USA

   Brookins-Jackson, C.D. ; Boyd, Z.L. ; Freeland, A.C. ; Mann, B.L. ; Perry, M.K. ; Ignatius, A.R. ( January 2022 , Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Waters Conference: Shared Resources in Changing Times. Albany, GA)

   To increase geospatial awareness about local water resources, our team developed learning resources for the 150 km² Lake Sidney Lanier reservoir located in North Georgia, USA. The reservoir is vital for hydroelectric power generation, recreation, tourism, and consumptive uses. Using geospatial analysis in Google Earth Engine (GEE), we analyzed precipitation trends in the watershed using Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data. We also quantified expansion and contraction of reservoir surface area using Landsat-derived Global Surface Water data. As Lake Sidney Lanier is a managed reservoir, surface water extent fluctuations are related to climatic variables, consumptive use, and hydropower generation. Water temperature varies based on seasonality, water depth, water clarity, and lake stratification. Changing temperature dynamics affect ecosystem health and determine other important water quality parameters such as dissolved oxygen concentrations. Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data were used to examine temperature trends over multiple years and investigate the timing of lake stratification and mixing. Highly turbid waters are associated with pollutants and lower water quality and can affect ecosystem productivity by minimizing sunlight penetration into the water column. Sentinel 2 MSI data were processed using a turbidity algorithm to analyze temporal trends and spatial correlations with reservoir inflows. Finally, high concentrations of chlorophyll a were used as a proxy to identify harmful algal blooms. The spatial differences in headwaters and near-dam locations were examined and near real-time satellite data were explored for potential development of early-warning systems to protect ecosystem and human health. 

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3. Differential Responses of Maximum Versus Median Chlorophyll‐ a to Air Temperature and Nutrient Loads in an Oligotrophic Lake Over 31 Years

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027296  

   Ward, Nicole K. ; Steele, Bethel G. ; Weathers, Kathleen C. ; Cottingham, Kathryn L. ; Ewing, Holly A. ; Hanson, Paul C. ; Carey, Cayelan C. ( June 2020 , Water Resources Research)

   Globally, phytoplankton abundance is increasing in lakes as a result of climate change and land‐use change. The relative importance of climate and land‐use drivers has been examined primarily for mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes. However, oligotrophic lakes show different sensitivity to climate and land‐use drivers than mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes, necessitating further exploration of the relative contribution of the two drivers of change to increased phytoplankton abundance. Here, we investigated how air temperature (a driver related to climate change) and nutrient load (a driver related to land‐use and climate change) interact to alter water quality in oligotrophic Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, USA. We used long‐term data and the one‐dimensional hydrodynamic General Lake Model (GLM) coupled with Aquatic EcoDyanmics (AED) modules to simulate water quality. Over the 31‐year simulation, summer median chlorophyll‐aconcentration was positively associated with summer air temperature, whereas annual maximum chlorophyll‐aconcentration was positively associated with the previous 3 years of external phosphorus load. Scenario testing demonstrated a 2°C increase in air temperature significantly increased summer median chlorophyll‐aconcentration, but not annual maximum chlorophyll‐aconcentration. For both maximum and median chlorophyll‐aconcentration, doubling external nutrient loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus at the same time, or doubling phosphorus alone, resulted in a significant increase. This study highlights the importance of aligning lake measurements with the ecosystem metrics of interest, as maximum chlorophyll‐aconcentration may be more uniquely sensitive to nutrient load and that typical summer chlorophyll‐aconcentration may increase due to warming alone.

    

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4. Autocyclic (avulsion‐induced) base‐level change, its upstream and downstream controls, and effects on floodbasin sedimentation: The 1870s avulsion of the Saskatchewan River, Cumberland Marshes, Canada

   https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5249  

   Morozova, Galina S. ( November 2021 , Earth Surface Processes and Landforms)

   This study examines centennial‐scale hydrological and sedimentological effects of floodplain inundation by avulsion and its upstream and downstream controls. The 1870s avulsion in Cumberland Marshes diverted the Saskatchewan River flow towards Cumberland Lake, a local base level. It invaded a poorly drained sub‐basin of Cumberland Marshes floodplain linked to the parent Saskatchewan River by two small outlets in the resistant substrate. The rapid increase in inflow (~5× on average) during the earlier stages of the avulsion resulted in the base‐level rise and floodplain inundation by the avulsion lake. Since the early 20th century, the forced regression of the avulsion lake occurred, caused by ~5× outlet channel enlargement by ‘hungry‐water’ outflows, whereas the mean lake inflows experienced little change. The avulsion lake served as an effective sediment trap and was filled by predominantly progradational sandy and silty avulsion deposits up to 3–4 m thick, covering about 700 km². Elsewhere, fluviodeltaic settings with ‘negative relief’ and limited hydrologic connectivity with the rest of the floodplain may be prone to avulsion lakes that form if the rates of inflow increased by avulsion exceed the rates of outflow. Avulsion lakes can last for ~100 years or more before they drain and/or become filled by overbank sediments. On well‐drained floodplains, inundations by avulsions are expected to be short‐term and result in little progradational deposition. This study demonstrates that in some local hydrographic basins, base level becomes a variable of an evolving avulsion rather than its fixed external control. Although avulsion‐induced base‐level changes are short‐lived, they affect 10²–10³ km²of a floodplain and occur rapidly, accompanied by high aggradation rates.

    

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5. Improvement in municipal wastewater treatment alters lake nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in populated regions

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920759117  

   Tong, Yindong ; Wang, Mengzhu ; Peñuelas, Josep ; Liu, Xueyan ; Paerl, Hans W. ; Elser, James J. ; Sardans, Jordi ; Couture, Raoul-Marie ; Larssen, Thorjørn ; Hu, Hongying ; et al ( May 2020 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Large-scale and rapid improvement in wastewater treatment is common practice in developing countries, yet this influence on nutrient regimes in receiving waterbodies is rarely examined at broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, we present a study linking decadal nutrient monitoring data in lakes with the corresponding estimates of five major anthropogenic nutrient discharges in their surrounding watersheds over time. Within a continuous monitoring dataset covering the period 2008 to 2017, we find that due to different rates of change in TN and TP concentrations, 24 of 46 lakes, mostly located in China’s populated regions, showed increasing TN/TP mass ratios; only 3 lakes showed a decrease. Quantitative relationships between in-lake nutrient concentrations (and their ratios) and anthropogenic nutrient discharges in the surrounding watersheds indicate that increase of lake TN/TP ratios is associated with the rapid improvement in municipal wastewater treatment. Due to the higher removal efficiency of TP compared with TN, TN/TP mass ratios in total municipal wastewater discharge have continued to increase from a median of 10.7 (95% confidence interval, 7.6 to 15.1) in 2008 to 17.7 (95% confidence interval, 13.2 to 27.2) in 2017. Improving municipal wastewater collection and treatment worldwide is an important target within the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. Given potential ecological impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function of altered nutrient ratios in wastewater discharge, our results suggest that long-term strategies for domestic wastewater management should not merely focus on total reductions of nutrient discharges but also consider their stoichiometric balance.

    

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