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Climate Change and the European Water Dimension - Agri ...

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TP (µg l -1 )<br />

Modelling<br />

To analyse this process fur<strong>the</strong>r, a physical lake model <strong>and</strong> a mechanistic phosphorus<br />

model were combined with two emission scenarios generated by a regional climate<br />

model (RCM) in three sites in central Sweden – Lake Erken <strong>and</strong> two basins of Lake<br />

Mälaren (Galten <strong>and</strong> Ekoln). In <strong>the</strong> phosphorus model water mixing, mineralization,<br />

diffusion <strong>and</strong> biological uptake are temperature dependent.<br />

80<br />

70<br />

60<br />

50<br />

40<br />

30<br />

20<br />

10<br />

E rken, control, sc enario<br />

control<br />

A2<br />

B2<br />

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec<br />

Month<br />

In <strong>the</strong> simulations, Lake Erken was much more sensitive to climate warming than <strong>the</strong><br />

two basins of Lake Mälaren (Figure VI.A.8), <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> reason was shown to be <strong>the</strong><br />

much longer water residence time in Lake Erken (seven years), stressing <strong>the</strong><br />

importance of internal processes. In Galten <strong>and</strong> Ekoln <strong>the</strong> water residence times are<br />

less than one year, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> effects of water temperature changes are small. In Lake<br />

Erken <strong>the</strong> concentration of epilimnetic, dissolved phosphorus almost doubles in<br />

spring <strong>and</strong> autumn in <strong>the</strong> scenarios. Long-term datasets from Lake Erken from <strong>the</strong><br />

1970’s <strong>and</strong> 1980’s showed that earlier ice-breaks <strong>and</strong> higher temperatures in May led<br />

to increased phosphorus concentration <strong>and</strong> phytoplankton biomass in summer<br />

(Blenckner et al., 2002). Since <strong>the</strong> lake is mostly phosphorus-limited, this means that<br />

<strong>the</strong> phytoplankton production is almost doubled in <strong>the</strong> future scenarios. The<br />

implication would be that in Lake Erken, <strong>and</strong> in o<strong>the</strong>r eutrophic lakes with long<br />

water residence times, eutrophication problems might become serious in a<br />

warmer future climate. <strong>Water</strong> managers may need to take action today in order to<br />

maintain good water quality in <strong>the</strong>se lakes.<br />

161<br />

Lake Mälaren (Ekoln)<br />

j f m a m j j a s o n d<br />

FigureVI.A.8. Mean, maximum <strong>and</strong> minimum values of predicted total phosphorus<br />

(TP) concentration (µg/l) in Lake Erken <strong>and</strong> in <strong>the</strong> Ekoln basin of Lake Mälaren for<br />

<strong>the</strong> three climate emission scenarios (control 1960-1990; A2 - 2070-2100; B2, - 2070-<br />

2100).<br />

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70<br />

60<br />

50<br />

40<br />

30<br />

20<br />

10<br />

Month

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