Department or Program

Environmental Studies

Abstract

Lake metabolism has shown to be window through which scientists can observe the trophic career of any given lake. We attempt to tread where none have before by modeling the metabolism for Lake Auburn, from 2013 to 2016, in hopes of understanding the controls on GPP and R. As the municipal drinking water source of the towns of Lewiston and Auburn and one of the few lakes to have a filtration waver it is imperative that as researchers, we understand the mechanisms behind metabolism and just how far Lake Auburn has undergone changes in trophic states, in order to combat future algal blooms, nutrient loading, and deregulation that jeopardize the health of the lake. We found that several input factors influenced both GPP and R, but these results were not always consistent across years. R was also found to outpace GPP in 2015 classifying Lake Auburn as heterotrophic. Annual mean NEP was similar to that of lakes experiencing shifts from oligotrophy to mesotrophy in the observed period. Overall, observations were consistent in proving the worthwhile nature of open water metabolism modeling as a way to monitor ecosystem change across multiple timescales.

Level of Access

Restricted: Campus/Bates Community Only Access

First Advisor

Holly Ewing

Date of Graduation

5-2020

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Number of Pages

86

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