<p> The forms of phosphorus in sediments of acid and non-acid shield lakes were determined in order to assess the effects of lake acidification on the mobility of sediment phosphorus. Sediment phosphorus is conveniently classified into three categories: non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAI-P), apatite-P and organic P. The distribution of P between different categories was found to be dependent on the lithology of the lake basin, the pH in the water column, and the redox conditions.</p> <p> More than 90% of inorganic P in shield lake sediments was in the NAI-P category, associated presumably with hydrated Fe and Al oxides. Organic P accounted for more than 40% of total P in sediments of acid lakes, which is proportionally higher than that found in sediments of neutral lakes. Bioavailable P, a measure of the fraction of sediment inorganic P readily available for biological utilization, amounted to ~70% of NAI-P, similar to that found in hard water lakes.</p> <p> A series of experiments was designed to investigate the immobilization of P from solution. The uptake of P by solid phase was explained by an adsorption mechanism. The quantitative estimates of phosphate sorption parameters for sediments of acid and non-acid lakes show that mineralogical and chemical characteristics of sediments are more important than the pH of water in determining their efficiency of P removal. Therefore, acidification of lakes does not significantly influence the uptake of P by sediments.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/19192 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | Mayer, Tatiana |
| Contributors | Kramer, James R., Geology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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