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MAJOR ION CHEMISTRY OF LAKES ON THE KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
Citation:
Eilers, J., D.H. Landers, A. Newell, M. Mitch, M. Morrison, AND J. Ford. MAJOR ION CHEMISTRY OF LAKES ON THE KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-93/473 (NTIS PB94117603), 1993.
Description:
A probability sample of 59 lakes was conducted in August, 1988 to characterize the major ion chemistry of a population of over 800 lakes on the Kenai Peninsula, AK. here were two groups of lakes: those with alkalinity <300 ueq/L, representing 78t of the lakes, and those with alkalinity >700 ueq/L. he low alkalinity lakes had significantly lower concentrations of base cations and silica and significantly higher average concentrations of dissolved organic carbon than the high alkalinity lakes. espite the widespread distribution of acidic soils and bog vegetation, and resulting high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, none of the lakes sampled were acidic. ulfate concentrations, which averaged 3 ueq/L for all lakes, were similar in the two lake groups, as were chloride concentrations, which varied as a function of distance from the Cook Inlet. he chemistry of the high alkalinity lakes as similar to that of rivers draining the study area and to the chemistry of shallow aquifers in the region, suggesting that the high alkalinity lakes are a product of the major weathering reactions in this terrain. in contrast the low alkalinity lakes were largely devoid of measurable silica and were low in base cations. he low alkalinity lakes had substantially different ratios of base cations than the high alkalinity lakes, which provides additional evidence indicating a quantitative and qualitative differences in weathering products to these systems. he low alkalinity lakes were located at higher elevations than the high alkalinity lakes and presumably located in groundwater recharge zones. onsequently, the chemical differences between the two lake groups appeared to be controlled by relatively small differences in local hydrologic setting, and possible differences in mineralogy along the groundwater flowpaths.
