Abstract
The paper is aimed to show the influence that the dynamics of artificial lowering of a lake water level has on the hydro-chemical regime and the lake itself, on the example of Lake Sevan. Lake Sevan is one of the world's largest high-altitude fresh-water lakes. Studies of chemical composition of its water were launched at the end of the 19th century, and the first salt balance was determined in the 1930s. According to routine observations, one liter of the lake's water contains about 0.7 g salts. Almost all the ion concentrations have been changed by about 5–10% as a result of the lake level drop. There have also been changes in the general mineralization of the lake that are related to the drop of the lake level and the magnitude of its flow. In 1928–1930, well before the artificial change in lake level, total mineralization was 718,4 mg/l, while today it is 673 mg/l (1999– 2002). The decrease of total general mineralization of the lake water is strongly related to the massive outflow of salty water, removing the salts, which had been accumulating in the lake for ages. In conclusion, it must be noted that the drop of the lake level, and the economic development in the basin brought about the change in the hydro-chemical regime of the lake.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
References
Liatti S.J. (1932) The Hydrochemical Study of Lake Sevan: Materials on the Researches of Lake Sevan and its Basin. Part IV, Issue 2, Leningrad.
Vardanian T.G. (1990) On several problems of mineralization and ion structure of Lake Sevan water. Scientific Notes of Yerevan State University, Natural Sciences, N 1(173): 140–145.
Vardanian T.G. (1999) The condition of mineralization of the Rivers of Lake Sevan basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the RA, Earth Science, LII, N2–3: 97–100.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Vardanian, T. (2009). The Hydro-Chemical Changes of Lake Sevan Water After the Artificial Lowering of the Water Level. In: Bahadir, A.M., Duca, G. (eds) The Role of Ecological Chemistry in Pollution Research and Sustainable Development. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2903-4_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2903-4_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2901-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2903-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)