Will hypolimnetic waters become anoxic in all deep tropical lakes?

Abstract

Abstract To elucidate trends of hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations, vertical distributions of dissolved oxygen were measured in eight deep tropical bodies of water (one natural lake with two basins, five natural lakes, and one reservoir) in Indonesia. A comparison of those concentrations with previously reported data revealed that shoaling of hypolimnetic oxygen-deficient (around a few decimeters to a few meter per year) water had occurred in all of the lakes. Calculated areal hypolimnetic oxygen depletion rates were 0.046–5.9 g m−2 y−1. The oligomictic or meromictic characteristics of the bodies of water suppressed circulation and mixing in the hypolimnions and thus resulted in continuous shoaling of the uppermost oxygen-deficient layers. In some lakes, millions of fish sometimes died suddenly, probably owing to upward movement of oxygen-deficient water to near the surface during periods of strong winds. In the future, the rate of shoaling will be accelerated by human impacts in the basins and by climate warming, the influence of which has already been manifested by rising water temperatures in these lakes. Appropriate monitoring and discussions of future restoration challenges are urgently needed to prevent the hypolimnions of the lakes from becoming completely anoxic.