Wind-induced Sediment Resuspension and its Impact on Algal Growth for Lake Balaton

Abstract

This report includes two articles which were published concerning IIASA's joint study with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on eutrophication management of Lake Balaton. The first one, "Dynamic Behavior of Suspended Sediment Concentrations in a Shallow Lake Perturbed by Episodic Wind Events," by Luettich, Jr. et al, deals with the understanding and modeling of physical processes influencing resuspension, while the second one, "Influence of Sediment Resuspension on the Light Conditions and Algal Growth in Lake Balaton," by Somlyody and Koncsos, builds on its achievements and estimates the impact on light conditions and algae biomass. Due to an increased internal phosphorus load and the appearance of nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae, nowadays nutrients are not a limiting factor for Lake Balaton (in spite of the significant load reduction realized since 1983). The short-term dynamics of algae biomass are primarily determined by light, as described in the second article