Observation and Simulation of Sediment Resuspension in Lake Izunuma

Abstract

Lake Izunuma is a shallow lake located in the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture, and eutrophication has become a serious problem in the lake. One of the factors hindering the improvement of water quality is sediment deterioration. In this study, field observations of sediment resuspension were conducted in summer and winter, respectively. From the observed data, we found that the sediment resuspension were much influenced by the local seasonal wind and the aquatic vegetation in the lake. A simple model was developed to express time series of suspended sediment concentration in the lake by the use of wind speed as a forcing input, and it successfully reproduced time variation of turbidity during stormy condition in winter and spring season.