Linkey Yan
Project
The Impact of Salinity on Freeze-Thaw Dynamics and Plankton Community Structure in a Natural Lake System: Implications of Road Salf RunoffChloride salts are widely used for winter road maintenance due to their freezing-point depression properties. However, their migration into surface waters as high-salinity runoff raises concerns, as it alters the physical and biological characteristics of lakes. Beyond these salinity effects, this study examines the impact of salinity on ice formation. To investigate, mesocosms tanks will be set up at Lac Hertel, a mesotrophic temperate lake, with high salinity treatments containing 6 g/L of added NaCl. To isolate the effect of ice and salt, a parallel high salinity treatment will be manually capped to simulate natural ice-on timing. By examining these processes, this study assesses the influence of road salt runoff on both the physical ice dynamics and plankton communities. These findings are expected to provide insights to ecological impacts of road salt regulation in Canada, paving the way for improved management practices.
