Rate of sedimentation in Lake Kinneret, Israel: spatial and temporal variations

Abstract

The rate of sedimentation in Lake Kinneret was measured over several years by means of sediment traps, in up to seven different locations in the lake. Gross sedimentation rates measured in the sediment traps vary from about 1Á5 kg m À2 a À1 in the deepest part of the lake up to 10 kg m À2 a À1 near the mouth of the upper Jordan river. The rate of sedimentation near the Jordan's inflow is highly correlated to flow discharge in the river, while in the centre of the lake the seasonal sedimentation pattern is mainly correlated to the bloom period of Peridinium gatunense. During the bloom period of Peridinium gatunense sedimentation rates all over the lake are very similar, indicating that the Peridinium is evenly distributed in the lake. The average suspended sediment discharge of the upper Jordan river flowing into the lake is 41 000 ton a À1

The burial efficiency of organic carbon in the sediments of Lake Kinneret

“…OC 207 burial was calculated from OC content, density and porosity of sediment layers >25 yr old, 208 and the sedimentation rate. Gross sedimentation was derived from sediment traps using the 209 mass deposition data from Koren and Klein (2000), which cover all sites of the present study, 210…”

The biogeochemical cycle of iron and associated elements in Lake Kinneret 1,2 1Associate editor: M. L. Machesky 2See Electronic Annex (Elsevier Web site; Science Direct).

“…Annual evaporation accounts for 1.5-3 10 6 m 3 , and seasonal water levels fluctuations are 2-4 m. Water residence time in the lake is 5-8 yr. The Jordan River is also the main nutrient and sediment source, carrying an average suspended sediment discharge of 41,000 ton y Ϫ1 (Koren and Klein, 2000).…”

Sedimentation of photosynthetic pigments during the bloom of the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium phaeobacteroides in Lake Kinneret: spatial patterns

“…A detailed description of the sedimentation traps and their set up was described previously (Koren & Klein, 2000). The material collected with each set of traps was pooled and subjected to several analyses.…”