Author(s): Kouki Sugihara; Makoto Nakatsugawa
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The impact of climate change on water quality in a cold, snowy region was examined at the Barato River a stagnant body of water. The freezing period of the river has been shortening, a finding based on the analysis of weather and water quality data from 1998 to 2008. Moreover, changes have been observed in the water quality variation of water under the river ice, and climate change has been shown to influence the water quality during the thawing season. An ecosystem model that incorporates freezing was constructed, and the impact of global warming on the river was simulated. The model was able to reproduce water quality variation in the freezing period. In the simulation, an atmospheric temperature increase of 6.4 degrees centigrade produced an average biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) increase of 3% to 12%. The rate of increase was high at highly stagnant body of water, and the rise in BOD concentration during the thawing season was remarkable.
Year: 2010