Project Page Views: [ 710 ]
| Project Metadata Element | Details |
| Project Title | Limno- and palaeo-ecological responses to lake water dissolved organic carbon (DOC) |
| Research Area | Water |
| Project Acronym | DOC |
| Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner | Catherine Dalton |
| Lead Institution or Organisation | University of Limerick (UL) |
| Lead Country | Ireland |
| Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) | 52.67389, -8.57190 |
| Lead Funding Entity | Environmental Protection Agency |
| Approximate Project Start Date | 01/10/2008 |
| Approximate Project Finishing Date | 01/10/2011 |
| Project Website (if any) | |
| Links to other Web-based resources | |
| Project Keywords | Lakes; Dissolved Organic Carbon; Palaeoecology; Surface waters |
| Project Abstract | A trend of increasing dissolved organic carbon in surface waters has been documented for areas of Northern Europe and North America in the last 15-20 years. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these increases including land use changes, declines in acid deposition and anthropogenic climate change. Increased colour and humic content of surface waters has potentially critical effects on aquatic ecosystems as well as on drinking water production. This research will help establish (i) the present ecological response in bacterioplankton and phytoplankton populations and the recent palaeoecology of two lake systems, (ii) evaluate change in system state, (iii) assess the ecological response to increases in the DOC stressor and (iv) evaluate the potential roles of land use changes, declines in acid deposition, climate change and help inform predictions of future state. |