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CONTRIBUTION OF SEDIMENT AND ASSOCIATED ELEMENTS TO THE
' GREAT LAKES FROM EROSION OF THE CANADIAN SHORELINE
PLUARG Technical R e p o r t
Task D. A c t i v i t y 1
R . L. T h o m a s
84
W . S. H a r a s
C a n a d a C e n t r e f o r In land Waters
B u r l i ngton , O n t a r i o L 7 R 4 A 6
DISCLAIMER
The s tudy presented i n t h i s r e p o r t was c a r r i e d o u t as a p a r t
o f t h e P o l l u t i o n f rom Land Use A c t i v i t i e s Reference Group (PLUARG),
an o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t Comnission ( I J C ) , e s t a b l i s h e d
under t h e Canada/U.S. Great Lakes W a t e r , Q u a l i t y Agreement o f 1972.
Funding was p rov ided th rough F i s h e r i e s and Environment Canada.
F ind ings and conc lus ions a r e those o f t h e au thors and do n o t
n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t t h e v iews o f t h e Reference Group o r i t s
recommendations t o t h e Commi s s i on.
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The au tho rs o f t h i s r e p o r t would l i k e t o thank t h e a n a l y t i c a l
ass i s tance p rov ided by J . D. H. W i l l i ams , N. A. Rukavina and l a b o r a t o r y
s t a f f o f C C I W . I n p a r t i c u l a r , thanks a r e expressed t o Miss Sandy George
a- f o r da ta r e d u c t i o n and process ing and Ms Renee Dawson f o r da ta compi
t i o n . The genera l ass i s tance and i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e s t a f f o f C C I W
i s g r e a t l y apprec ia ted , i n p a r t i c u l a r Drs. A. L. W. Kemp and P. G. S
and Dennis Gregor f o r h i s c r i t i c a l rev iew o f t h e manuscr ip t .
Y9
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
D i s c l a imer
Acknowl edgemen t s
Tab le o f Contents
L i s t o f t a b l e s
L i s t o f f i g u r e s
Summary
I n t roduc ti on
Methods
Sediment Loading t o t h e Grea t Lakes
P a r t i c l e S i ze
Sediment Loadi ngs
Major Element Loadings
Phosphorus
Trace Elements
Loadings Sumnary
Concl u s i ons
References
Page i
ii
iii
i v
v i
1
3
6
13
13
20
27
27
41
52
54
56
iii
LIST OF TABLES Page
Table 1. D e s c r i p t i o n o f S h o r e l i n e Reaches i n Lakes On ta r io , E r i e and Huron. 7
Table 2. Lake O n t a r i o : Sediment Concen t ra t i ons ( % by w t . ) . 17
Table 3. Lake E r i e : Sediment Concen t ra t i ons (% by w t . ) . 18
Table 4. Lake Huron: Sediment Concen t ra t i ons ( % by w t . ) . 19
Table 5. Lake On ta r io : Long-Term Sediment Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 21
Table 6. Lake O n t a r i o : Short-Term Sediment Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 22
Table 7. Lake E r i e : Long-Term Sediment Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 23
Table 8. Lake E r i e : Short-Term Sediment Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 24
Table 9. Lake Huron: Long-Term Sediment Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 25
Table 10. Lake Huron: Short-Term Sediment Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 26
Table 11. Lake O n t a r i o : Major Element Concen t ra t i ons ( % by w t . ) . 28
Table 12. Lake E r i e : Major Element Concen t ra t i ons ( % by w t . ) . 29
Table 13. Lake Huron: Ma jo r Element Concen t ra t i ons ( % by w t . ) . 30
Table 14. Lake O n t a r i o : 31
Table 15. Lake O n t a r i o : S h o r t Term Major Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 32
Long Term Major Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) .
Table 16. Lake E r i c : Long Term Major Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) .
Table 17. Lake E r i e : S h o r t Term Major Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) .
Table 18. Lake Huron: Long Term Ma jo r Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) .
Tab le 19. Lake Huron: S h o r t Term Major Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) .
Table 20. A p a t i t e phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n Canadian s h o r e l i n e b l u f f s .
Table 21. Phosphorus l o a d i n g s t o Lakes O n t a r i o , E r i e and Huron f rom s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n i n m e t r i c t ons pe r yea r . LT = Long term; ST = S h o r t term.
Table 22. Phosphorus f rom s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n as percentage o f t o t a l l a k e phosphorus l o a d i n g s f o r 1976 -- Canadian s h o r e l i n e .
33
34
35
36
38
39
40
i v
LIST OF TABLES (Cont.)
Tab le 23. Lake On ta r io : T race Meta l Concen t ra t i ons (ppm). 42 Page
Tab le 24. Lake E r i e : Trace Meta l Concen t ra t i ons (ppm). 43
Tab1 e 25. Lake Huron: Trace Meta l Concen t ra t i ons (ppm) . 44
Thomas 1976a). 45
Tab le 26. Comparison o f mean meta l c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n b l u f f s t o open lake , p r e s e n t and p r e - C o l o n i a l sediments ( a f t e r Kemp &
Tab le 27. Lake O n t a r i o : Long Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) 46
Tab le 28. S h o r t Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 47 Lake On ta r io :
Tab
Tab
Tab
Tab
Tab
e 29. Lake E r i e : Long Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 48
e 30. Lake EYie: S h o r t Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 49
e 31. Lake Huron: Long Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t ons ) . 50
e 32. Lake Huron: S h o r t Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t o n s ) . 51
e 33. Loadings d e r i v e d f rom s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n compared t o open l a k e accumul a t i o n . A1 1 va lues i n m e t r i c tons/annum w i t h 1 ong-term e r o s i o n va lues quoted f o r b l u f f s . 53
V
L I S T OF FIGURES
F i g . 1. Vo lumet r i c b l u f f e r o s i o n r a t e s and s h o r e l i n e reaches i n
Lake On ta r io .
F i g . 2. Vo lumet r i c b l u f f e r o s i o n r a t e s and s h o r e l i n e reaches i n
Lake E r i e .
F i g . 3. Vo lumet r i c b l u f f e r o s i o n r a t e s and s h o r e l i n e reaches i n
Lake Huron.
Page
14
15
16
v i
SUMMARY
From detai led surveys conducted under the Canada/Ontario
Agreement on shoreline damage in the Great Lakes the following long-
an shoreline term sediment loadings t o the Great Lakes from the Canad
were determined:-
Lake Ontario 1,430,400 m. t . /yr
Lake Erie 8,701,750 m.t . /yr.
Lake Huron 290,006 m. t . /y r .
During the p ro f i l i ng surveys undertaken in t h i s study a to t a l
ysed f o r o f 493 samples of shoreline materials were taken and ana
p a r t i c l e s i z e , major and t r ace element composition.
On the basis of the in t e rp re t a t ion of the shore1 ne loadings
data together with the r e s u l t s of the analyses the following conclu-
sions could be made:-
1 ) Shoreline erosion i s a s ign i f i can t source of sediment t o the
Great Lakes, pa r t i cu la r ly Lake Erie .
Shoreline erosion has been a continuing process of consistent
magnitude through a t l e a s t the past 150 years.
2 )
3) Concentrations of elements a r e a t background level and equate
t o the concentrations observed in deep pre-his tor ic open lake
sediments.
The contribution o f t o t a l phosphorus t o the lakes i s low in
Lakes Huron and Ontario b u t high in Lake Er ie , with maximum
percentages of 9.3, 6.2 and 35.2 percent respectively.
4 )
1
5 )
7 )
The c o n t r i b u t i o n o f a v a i l a b l e phosphorus i s low f o r a l l t h r e e
l a k e s w i t h maximum percentages o f 4.0, 5.0 and 1.1 f o r l a k e s
Huron, E r i e and O n t a r i o expressed a g a i n s t t h e 1976 t o t a l
phosphorus load ings .
The c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f Hg, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, 0rg.C and N f r o m
s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n expressed as percentages o f t h e annual
l o a d i n g s t o t h e sediment a r e low except f o r Cd, Cu and Org. C
i n Lake E r i e . The l o a d i n g s i n t h i s l a k e however s t i l l r e p r e -
s e n t a background c o n d i t i o n and a r e lower than t h e t o t a l
e s t i m a t e d n a t u r a l l o a d i n g t o t h e open l a k e as i n d i c a t e d b y
p r e - c o l o n i a l l o a d i n g es t imates .
On t h e b a s i s o f 1 t o 6 above, elements d e r i v e d from s h o r e l i n e
e r o s i o n -- do n o t c o n s t i t u t e a w a t e r q u a l i t y problem though
s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n as such remains a problem i n s o f a r as i t
a f f e c t s p r o p e r t y l o s s and va lue .
2
INTRODUCTION
The p r i m a r y base f o r t h i s s t u d y o f e r o s i o n o f t h e Great Lakes
s h o r e l i n e i s t h e d e t a i l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n conducted under t h e Canada/
O n t a r i o agreement on Great Lakes Shore l i n e Damage.
an assessment o f l o n g - t e r m s h o r e l i n e r e c e s s i o n / a c c r e t i o n r a t e s by photo-
grammetry between 1952 and 1973 and t h e s h o r t - t e r m e r o s i o n r a t e s d u r i n g
t h e h i g h w a t e r l e v e l s o f 1972 and 1973.
shore e r o s i o n t r a n s e c t s were e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e r e g i o n f r o m southern
Georgian Bay t o P r e s ' q u i l l e on Lake O n t a r i o . Samples f o r a n a l y s i s f o r
PLUARG were c o l l e c t e d f r o m a number o f these t r a n s e c t s f o r a n a l y s i s o f
t e x t u r e , m a j o r and t r a c e elements.
T h i s s t u d y i n c o r p o r a t e d
For t h i s l a t t e r p a r t o f t h e s t u d y
The o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y were t o a t t e m p t t o e s t a b l i s h
whether o r n o t s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n has a d e l e t e r i o u s e f f e c t on t h e water
q u a l i t y o f t h e Great Lakes and t o understand t h e r o l e o f sediment d e r i v e d
f r o m t h i s source on t h e sed imenta t ion processes o f t h e Great Lakes.
Shore l
unconsol i da t e d
r u n o f f . These
ground water f
e n t r a i n m e n t i n
a r e s u b j e c t t o
ne e r o s i o n i n genera l i s t h e r e s u l t o f t h e a t t r i t i o n o f
b l u f f m a t e r i a l s by t h e a c t i o n o f waves and by s u r f a c e
e f f e c t s a r e m o d i f i e d by such f a c t o r s as b l u f f composi t ion,
ow, s t r a t i g r a p h y and removal o f s loughed m a t e r i a l s by
t h e l i t t o r a l zone. M a t e r i a l s so removed %o t h e l a k e
s e l e c t i v e s o r t i n g by p h y s i c a l processes.
The breakdown o f b l u f f m a t e r i a l s ( d i s a g g r e g a t i o n
by wave p e r t u r b a t i o n ) r e s u l t s i n t h e r e l e a s e o f p a r t i c l e s , which span
t h e t e x t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e p a r e n t m a t e r i a l , t o t h e aqueous
sys tem.
3
A crude b u t s i g n i f i c a n t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i s used whereby these m a t e r i a l s
a re grouped i n t o t h r e e s i z e p o p u l a t i o n s d e f i n e d on t h e Wentworth
C 1 a s s i f i c a t i o n as f o l lows:
S i z e o f P a r t i c l e s
Sand and g r a v e l > (bl <4
mm .625
S i l t 4-8 .039-. 625
C1 ay > 8 <. 039
Thomas e t a l . (1972) no ted t h a t sediment i n Lake O n t a r i o was
d e f i c i e n t i n s i l t s i z e p a r t i c l e s , a f a c t which was subsequent ly conf i rmed
i n s t u d i e s on Lakes Huron, E r i e and S u p e r i o r (Thomas _ - e t a l . , 1973; 1975
and Thomas and Jaquet 1975). These au thors e x p l a i n e d t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n
o f t h e t e x t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e sediments o f t h e Great Lakes on
t h e b a s i s o f s e l e c t i v e s o r t i n g o f a sand and a c l a y s i z e p o p u l a t i o n .
The sand occurs i n t h e sha l low water nearshore zone whereas t h e c l a y s
and s i 1 t y c l a y s occur o f f s h o r e i n t h e deeper water d e p o s i t i o n a l bas ins .
T h i s i m p l i e s a n e t t r a n s p o r t o f c l a y and s i l t s i z e m a t e r i a l s o f f s h o r e
i n t o q u i e s c e n t p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n s which p e r m i t t h e accumulat ion o f
these m a t e r i a l s . Sands t e n d t o occur outwards t o water depths where
wave generated energy d e c l i n e s t o a l e v e l where movement o f these s i z e s
ceases ( S l y 1977).
f r a c t i o n a l i z e s i n t o two major components.Sands and g r a v e l remain i n
B l u f f m a t e r i a l eroded i n t o t h i s s i t u a t i o n thus
t h e h i g h energy zone and move i n t h e l i t t o r a l zone as bed t r a n s p o r t ; and
q3 p h i = d iameter i n mm t o t h e n e g a t i v e l o g base 2
4
the f ines are se lec t ive ly winnowed in to the suspended load and rapidly
transported t o a s i t ua t ion where accumulation may proceed.
nay s e t t l e i n s h a l l o w wdters under quie t c o r i d i t i o t i s b u t d u r - i n g variable
wind events will be resuspended and subject t o onward transportation i n
response t o the physical c i rcu la t ion of the lake.
Fine par t ic les
The coarse material w i t h a tendency for "longshore" t ransport w i 11
ult imately accumulate as lacustr ine sand and gravel deposi ts , beaches and
dunes.
see Rukavina (1975).
coarser f rac t ion of shoreline material i s intimately involved in the
f ine balances established between supply and demand for material in
maintaining beaches and dunes as a human amenity.
unless well planned, may delete sediment s u p p l y with rapid wide-scale
impact i n o ther par ts of the system.
For a discussion of these processes i n the lower Great Lakes
Needless t o say the processes pertaining t o the
Shoreline protection,
A deta i led discussion of nearshore processes i s beyond the
scope of t h i s study i n t h a t the impact of shoreline erosion on water
qua l i ty i s evaluated in chemical terms, a n d merely supplements informa-
t ion already avai lable from the Canada/Ontario agreement and other
s c i e n t i f i c s tudies on physical processes. From a conceptual point of
view, however, i t should be noted t h a t shoreline erosion i s a n a t u r a l
process of coastal readjustment t o lake levels t h a t have been s teadi ly
rising since the formation of the modern Great Lakes system some 10,000
years before present.
t o the cycl ical f luctuat ion of water levels b u t the long-term geological
Variable erosion ra tes are re la ted
5
trend remains one of deepening water due t o t i l t i n g of the crustal
surface as a rebound phenomenonadjusting t o the loss of i c e mass
d u r i n g the 1 as t gl aci a t i on.
METHODS
CALCULATION OF SEDIMENT LOADINGS
a ) Short-term loadings (1972-1973)
Short-term loadings to each lake were calculated fo r the Canadian
shore of the lake basin plus reaches within the lake basin ( see Table 1 ) .
Each reach within the lake was subdivided in to sub-reaches, which were
determined by the bluff type, shoreline configuration and so i l composition,
and the r a t e a t which they were eroding or accreting.
eroded or accreted per sub-reach were calculated using equation 1 .
Volumes of material
Equation 1 Vol. = E R x SRL
where: Vol. = volume of material eroded or 3
2 accreted per sub-reach ( m )
E R = erosion r a t e o f the sub-reach ( m )
SRL = sub-reach length ( m )
Erosion r a t e s f o r each sub-reach were obtained from the ground
survey s t a t ions indicated in Canada/Ontario Great Lakes Shore Damage
Survey Technical Report, and supplemented by data from subsequent
monitoring u p t o and including year 1977.
6
Table 1 . D e s c r i p t i o n o f S h o r e l i n e Reaches i n Lakes On ta r io , E r i e and Huron
Lake Reach No. Reach D e s c r i p t i o n
Lake O n t a r i o 1 2 3 4
N i agara t o B u r l i n g t o n Canal B u r l i n g t o n Canal t o Toronto I s . Toronto Is. t o Frei;chman's Bay Frenchman's Bay t o P r e s q u i l l e P t .
Lake E r i e 1 2 3 4
D e t r o i t R i v e r t o P o i n t Pelee P o i n t Pelee t o Rondeau Rondeau t o Long P o i n t Long P o i n t t o Niagara
*Lake Huron 1 2 3 4
Sauble R i v e r t o P o i n t C la rk P o i n t C l a r k t o Drysdale Drysdale t o K e t t l e P o i n t K e t t l e P o i n t t o Sa rn ia
*Georgian Bay n o t i n c l u d e d as marg ina l e r o s i o n w i t h s h o r e l i n e
p redominan t l y c o n s i s t i n g o f bedrock (Canadian S h i e l d - 30,000 i s l a n d s ,
Bruce Pen insu la ) o r sandy beaches ( M i d l a n d and Nottawasaga Bays)
c o n t r i b u t e d i n s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o sediment l oad ings .
7
Using t h e volumes/sub-reach c a l c u l a t e d i n e q u a t i o n 1, tonnages
( m e t r i c t o n s ) p r o - r a t e d f o r s o i l compos i t ion o f t h e b l u f f were c a l c u l a t e d
f rom Equat ion 2:
Equat ion 2 Tonnage: ( p e r sub-reach)
= Vo l . x % comp. x (Wt x K)
where: Vo l . = volume/m’ p e r sub-reach
W t . = d r y b u l k u n i t w e i g h t o f so i l t y p e 3 Gravel = 19-21 kN/m
Sand = 17-18 kN/m’ 3 S i l t = 16-17 kN/m
Clay = 15-18 kN/m’
( d r y b u l k u n i t w e i g h t c a l c u l a t e d f rom n a t u r a l d e n s i t y
va lues as g i v e n i n Handbook o f S o i l Mechanics, V o l . 1 :
Kezdi 1974) 2 K = 9.80665 m/s (convers ion f a c t o r )
% comp = percentage o f s o i l t ype a t a g i v e n
e r o s i o n s t a t i o n .
Added tonnage va lues f o r e a c h s o i l t ype p e r sub-reach g i v e s t o t a l
tonnage p e r sub-reach.
a l l sub-reach tonnages w i t h i n t h a t reach. S i m i l a r l y , t o t a l tonnage p e r
l a k e b a s i n i s ob ta ined.
T o t a l tonnage p e r reach i s o b t a i n e d b y adding
8
Lake Ontario d a t a showed no survey s t a t ions along the Scarboro
An average tonnage for the Scarboro Bluffs was obtained using Bluffs.
d a t a from Pleistocene Geology o f the Scarboro Area (Karrow, P. F . , O n t .
Dept. of Mines, G.R. #46, p . 2 1 , Appendix B, F i g . 5 , 1967) . This value
i s conservative since an average recession r a t e o f .3657 m was used
which i s n o t indicat ive of the high water r a t e .
b) Long-Term Loadings ( 1 953-1973)
Long-term loadings were calculated using the same procedures as
those for short term loadings, with the exception tha t 20 y r . recession
ra tes ( m ) were used instead o f erosion ra tes (m’/m/m) i n equation 1 .
I n most cases, more s ta t ions and sub-reaches were included in
the long-term loadings due t o the ava i l ab i l i t y of photogrammetric d a t a
for t h i s time period.
Haras , 1 9 7 4 ) .
(Canada-Ontario Great Lakes Shore Damage Survey,
Lake S t . Clair
Both long-term and short-term calculat ions were omitted fo r Lake
S t . C l a i r due t o the presence of only t w o survey s ta t ions on the south
shore and large beach and dune complexes covering a l l of t h i s area.
c ) Parameter Loadings
Short-term and long-term loadings fo r sediments, major elements,
t race elements, chlorine and f luor ine were calculated u s i n g equation 3.
9
Eros ion tonnages o n l y were used. Tonnages were c a l c u l a t e d f o r bo th
whole b a s i n and reaches o f each l a k e .
Equat ion 3 Tonnage/ = TT/ X a ) % by w t / parameter l a k e o r 100
reach
b ) ppb X 1.0 X
c ) ppm x 1.0 x where: TT = t o t a l tonnage due t o e r o s i o n p e r l a k e
o r reach ( m e t r i c t o n s )
a ) % by w t = used t o c a l c u l a t e l oad ings f o r ma jor 100
elements and sediments
b ) ppb X 1.0 X - c a l c u l a t e l oad ings o f mercury
c j ppm X 1 .O X lo-’ - c a l c u l a t e t r a c e meta ls , c h l o r i n e
and f l u o r i n e
10
SAMPLING AND SAMPLE PREPARATION
A t o t a l o f 493 samples were taken on t ransects established fo r
the shorel ine damage survey.
sect ion was cleaned and a sample o f about one kilogram taken from the
sect ion. An a l iquot of the sample was used f o r textural analysis and
the residue ground t o pass 100 mesh, t o ensure complete homogenization
A t each sampling location a shor t ver t ica l
ground sample was the f o r geochemical analyses. A fu r ther a l iquot of
ground t o 250 mesh, mixed 6 : l w i t h res in and pe
determination of the major elements.
Textural Analysis
Sieve and long pippette analysis a t one
Grain s i ze s t a t i s t i c s were computed employed.
by Coakley and Beal (1972).
l e t zed fo r X-ray
p h i s i ze increments were
by moment measures as described
Major El emen ts
Total Si02, A1203, Fe203, MgO, CaO, Na20, K20, Ti02, P205, MnO and S
were analysed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry using a Phi l l ips PW-122OC
automatic X-ray spectrometer.
sediment and analysed by wet chemical methods and checked by comparison
with analyses o f the U.S. Geological Survey standard rocks 6-2, PCCl , and D T S l .
Sediment standards were prepared from lake
Trace Elements
Trace elements Hg, P b , C u , Z n , Ni, Coy Cry Cd, Be, V , Sr, U, Ag,
Mo, Se, As, Se, C 1 and F were determined on contract by Bondar Clegg L t d . ,
11
Ottawa, a l a b o r a t o r y t h a t has been i n v o l v e d i n t h e PLUARG round r o b i n
s e r i e s o f sediment analyses.
Organ ic and I n o r g a n i c Carbon and N i t r o g e n
Organ ic and i n o r g a n i c carbon were measured on 34 samples.
Organic-C was de termined by d r y combustion i n a LECO fu rnace a f t e r
removal of t h e carbonate w i t h su lphurous a c i d . T o t a l carbon was
de termined on a separa te a l i q u o t and carbonate carbon c a l c u l a t e d as
t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e two de te rm ina t ions (Kemp 1971).
T o t a l N was a l s o analysed on t h e same 34 samples. T o t a l N
was determined by t h e Dumas method i n a LECO Model UO-14SP n i t r o g e n
d e t e r m i n a t o r as desc r ibed by Wong and Kemp (1977).
Phosphorus F r a c t i o n a t i o n
For t h e purpose o f t h i s s tudy 37 samples were analysed by t h e
techn iques o f W i l l i a m s e t a l . (1976) f o r T o t a l P and A p a t i t e P.
12
SEDIMENT LOADING TO THE G R E A T LAKES
Both long-term (1953-1973) and short-term (1972-1973) loadings
were calculated f o r Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron. Reaches used i n the
calculat ion o f t he loadings a re given in Figs. 1 , 2 and 3. Loadings f o r
sub-reaches a re not tabulated in t h i s report ; sub-reach loadings have
been accumulated t o provide a tabulation by reach (see methods).
P a r t i c l e Size
The results of p a r t i c l e s i z e analysis fo r sand and gravel , si1 t ,
clay and mean grain s i z e averaged by reach and by lake are given in
tab les 2 , 3 and 4.
In general the composition of t he bluff mater ia ls in Lakes Erie
and Ontario i s s imi la r though Lake Huron shows a generally coarser nature
with increased percentages of sand and gravel r e l a t ive t o s i l t and clay.
In Lake Ontario, reach #5 i s high in sand and gravel compared t o
the other reaches whereas reach #1 i s proportionally enriched in clay s i z e
material (Table 2 ) .
Edward County) ( F i g . 1 ) Rukavina (1976) and i s not fu r the r discussed i n
this report nor included i n the loadings calculat ion.
Reach #5 occurs in a region o f net accretion (Prince
Evaluation of the mean composition of the reaches f o r Lake Erie
(Table 3 ) , shows t h a t reach #1 i s of a coarser nature than the other
three reaches whi ch a re composi t ional l y very simi 1 a r .
For Lake Huron, ( t a b l e 4 ) reach #1 i s de f i c i en t in clay; a
higher value f o r s i l t with proportionally lower sand and gravel can be
seen i n reach #2,
13
Figure 1 VOLUMETRIC BLUFF EROSION RATES AND SHORELINE REACHES IN LAKE ONTARIO
0
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/ / VOLUMETRIC BLUFF EROSION RATES ...-. SHORT TERM RATE 1972 - 1977
-LONG TERM RATE 1955 - 1973
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Figure 3 VOLUMETRIC BLUFF EROSION RATES AND SHORELINE REACHES IN LAKE HURON
Tab le 2. Lake Ontar io : Sediment Concer i t rat ions (% by w t . )
Sand & Gravel S i l t C lay Mean - - - - Reach No. o f No. Samp 1 es X SD X SD X SD X SD
# I 70 50.6 33.90 24.5 17.07 24.4 22.18 4.9 2.75
#2 9 85.9 27.83 9 .0 19.90 4.2 8.48 2.5 1.78
#3 7 81.7 33.54 7.9 13.91 9.8 20.48 2.1 2.61
#4 78 67.7' 29.68 17.3 15.38 14.7 19.29 3.4 2.46
#5 6 98.0 - 57 . O l 0 .01 0 2.4 .29
Whole 170 63.29 33.28 18.81 17.01 17.41 20.85 3.86 2.67 Bas in
Table 3. Lake Erie: Sediment Concentrations (% by wt.)
Sand & Gravel Silt Clay Mean - - - - Reach No. o f
No. Sarnp 1 es X SD X SD X S D X SD
-I #1 59 71 .o 33.85 15.4 20.73 12.7 19.61 3.3 2.62
#2 22 61 . 6 38.19 13.7 14.29 24.1 24.99 4.1 3.28 03
#3 73 54.4 43.13 20.6 20.99 24.3 28.18 4.8 3.25
f4 40 64.5 43.55 9.7 15.65 25.1 34.17 4.2 3.69
Who1 e 194 62.4 40.35 15.9 19.54 20.9 27.30 4.2 3.22 Bas in
Tab le 4. Lake Huron: Sediment Concen t ra t i ons (% by w t . )
-
Sand d Gravel S i l t C lay Mean - - - - Reach No. o f No. Samp 1 es X SD X SD X S D X SD
# 1 19 98.5 .78 . O l 0 . O l 0 1.4 .64 A
a # 2 19 58.9 39.27 22.2 22.60 18.2 20.60 4.0 3.14
# 3 16 79.7 29.72 8.3 12.75 10.9 17.75 2.9 2.31
#4 63 75.9 33.71 9.9 15.23 13 .1 20.29 2.9 2.75
Who 1 e:': 117 78.5 32.46 9.5 15.93 10.8 18.57 2.8 2.57 Bas in
$c i nc ludes Georgian Bay
Sediment Loadings
Loadings f o r t o t a l sediment and t h e s i z e f r a c t i o n s by reach and
I n whole l a k e a re g i ven f o r bo th l ong and sho r t - te rm i n t a b l e s 5 t o 10.
Lake O n t a r i o l ong - te rm load ings a re i n t h e o r d e r o f 1.4 m i l l i o n tonne=
which show l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e t o t h e 1.3 m i l l i o n tonnes i n t h e s h o r t - t e r v
c a l c u l a t i o n o f 1972-1973 ( t a b l e s 5 and 6 ) .
and Shor t - te rm occurs i n reach #1 on t h e n o r h shore o f t h e Niagara
Pen insu la . S i m i l a r l y t h e l owes t e r o s i o n f o r bo th pe r iods occurs i n
reach #2 w i t h bo th reaches 3 and 4 showing s g n i f i c a n t l oad ings s i m i l a r
i n magnitude t o reach #l.
Grea tes t e r o s i o n bo th l o n g
I n Lake E r i e ( t a b l e s 7 and 8 ) s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n a long t h e n o r t h
shore i s ex t reme ly h i g h w i t h a long- te rm annual e r o s i o n r a t e o f 8.7 m i l l i o n
tonnes i n c r e a s i n g t o a sho r t - te rm h i g h l a k e l e v e l l o a d i n g o f 14 m i l l i o n
tonnes.
d e r i v e d f rom reach #3 which accounts f o r approx imate ly 80% o f t h e t o t a l
sediment l o a d i n g t o t h e l a k e f rom Canadian s h o r e l i n e e ros ion .
I n b o t h s h o r t and long- te rm pe r iods t h e major c o n t r i b u t i o n i s
The c o n t r i b u t i o n o f sediment t o Lake Huron f rom t h e Canadian
s h o r e l i n e on t h e west s i d e of the Bruce Pen insu la i s r e l a t i v e l y smal l ,
0.3 m i l l i o n tonnes f o r long- te rm e r o s i o n i n c r e a s i n g t o a sho r t - te rm
l o a d i n g o f 1.1 m i l l i o n tonnes ( t a b l e s 9 and l o ) . I n a l l l akes ( t a b l e s 5 t o 10) i t can be observed t h a t sand
and g rave l c o n s t i t u t e t h e predominant m a t e r i a l s u p p l i e d t o t h e l a k e
f rom s h o r e l i n e e ros ion . Th is m a t e r i a l , as s t a t e d p r e v i o u s l y , remains
i n t h e l i t t o r a l zone and as such w i l l n o t impact on l a k e water q u a l i t y .
The f i n e r m a t e r i a l s i n t h e s i l t and c l a y s i z e s w i l l tend u l t i m a t e l y t o
d i s p e r s e o f f sho re t o s e t t l e i n t h e deeper, open water l a k e bas ins .
20
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26
Tonnages o f these m a t e r i a1 s a r e summarized as f o l 1 ows: -
S i l t & Clay
(m.. t . /yea r )
Lake O n t a r i o 51 7,800 454,070 (36%)
Lake E r i e 3,210,950 5,151,560 (37%)
Lake Huron 58,870 21 4,100 (20%)
S i l t & Clay
(m. t . / yea r ) Long-term Shor t - te rm
( ) denotes percentage o f t o t a l l o a d i n g which a p p l i e s
t o bo th s h o r t and long - te rm l o a d i n g .
Ma jor Element Loadings
The mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f t h e ma jo r elements i n s h o r e l i n e
m a t e r i a l by reach and l a k e a r e g i v e n i n t a b l e s 11 , 12 and 13 . The load ings c a l c u l a t e d f rom these d a t a and t h e sediment l o s s da ta
f o r b o t h l ong - te rm and s h o r t - t e r m a r e summarized i n t a b l e s 14 t o
Other than phosphorus these elements a r e n o t cons idered t o be a problem
i n s o f a r as wa te r q u a l i t y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a r e concerned and mere ly
r e p r e s e n t t h e m i n e r a l o g i c a l compos i t ion o f t h e p a r e n t m a t e r i a l . T h i s
be ing t h e case t h e ma jo r elements w i l l n o t be d iscussed any f u r t h e r
than t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n and l o a d i n g s da ta g i v e n i n
t a b l e s 11 t o 19.
19 .
Phosphorus
The mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f t o t a l P as P205 t o g e t h e r w i t h
l o a d i n g s have been summarized i n t h e t a b l e s o f ma jor elements no ted
above. These load ings expressed as t o t a l P a r e independent ly summarized
i n t a b l e 20 . 27
Table 1 1 . Lake Ontar io : M a j o r Element Concent ra t ions i.' by v r t . )
0rg .C -
c o 2 MnO S - - - T i 0 2 p205
- - Na20 K2° Fe D MgO CaO
- - - - 2 3 A I 0 - 2 3
SiD2 Reach No. of -
S D X S D X S D X S D X S O X SD X SD X SD X SD X SO X S D X S D X S D No. Samples - X
X I 70 61.99 9.75 8.40 1.47 3.82 1.16 2.55 ,833 8.17 4.45 1.08 .I4 2.34 .52 .59 . I 4 .I6 .D3 .I2 .04 .C3 .04 6.42 5.16 .24 . 2 0 i'3 (67) (67) (67) (67) (67) (67) (67) (67) (67) (67) ,681 ( 4 ) (4) m
12 9 71.66 8.57 6.64 .80 1.67 .83 1.63 .648 10.76 2.52 1.33 .lo 1.94 .23 .29 .I7 .I3 .04 .OB .02 .Ol 0 ( 8 ) (8) ( 8 ) (8) ( 8 ) (8) ( 8 ) ( 8 ) ( 8 ) ( 8 ) (8)
x3 8 53.07 9.05 6.14 2.42 2.27 1.75 2.36 .338 18.36 7.72 .78 .37 1.72 .75 .38 .24 .I3 .OS . I 5 .I8 .08 .08 5.17 6.50 .67 .66 ( 2 ) ( 2 )
(76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (76) (6) (6) 14 78 39.76 13.41 5.41 1.40 1.59 1.03 2.55 .489 25.69 7.30 .43 .45 1.50 . 5 0 .35 . I 6 . I I .I4 .07 . 02 .04 .07 11.91 3.03 1.02 .46
15 6 73.37 6.07 7.17 .85 .44 .I7 1.08 ,193 11.07 2.19 1.71 .22 2.13 .23 .06 .02 .09 .01 .02 .01 .01 0
Whole 171 52.20 16.55 6.78 2.01 2.49 1.57 2.44 .723 16.97 10.27 .80 .50 1.90 .64 .43 .21 .I3 .IO .ID '06 '04 .07 8.96 5.05 .70 .53 Basin ( 1 65) (165) ( 1 65) (165) ( 165) ( 1 65) ( 1 65) (165) (165) ( 1 65) ( 1 66) ( 1 2 ) ( 1 2 )
Table 12. Lake Erie: Major Element Concentrations (% by w t . )
0rg.C -
co2 HnO S - - -
T i O Z '2'5 - - Fe 0 " CaO Na20 Kg O - - - - 2 3 A I 0
- 2 3 s io2 Reach No. o f -
SO X SD X SD No. Samples - X SO X S O X SO X SO X SO X SD X SO X SO X SD X SD X
!1 59 58.55 1 1 . 5 2 7.20 1.97 2.90 1 . 5 9 2.86 .889 11.98 5.94 .98 . 2 1 2.14 .67 .44 .32 . I 4 .09 .07 .04 .05 . I 2 9.02 1.46 1.30 .42 (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) (57) ( 3 ) ( 3 )
2 #2 22 49.88 7.52 7.72 2.00 3.39 .99 3.39 .642 14.73 5.12 .87 . I 5 2.32 .83 .49 . I 6 . I 5 .02 .08 .03 .21 . 2 4 9.82 . 6 3 1 . 1 3 . 1 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 )
# 4 40 57.21 14.87 7.24 1.73 2.81 2.23 3.39 1.34 11.61 5.25 1.24 .39 2 . 1 2 .70 -42 -37 .I5 0 .08 .06 .02 .03 8.52 4.92 .53 .27 (5 ) (5)
Whole 194 54.90 12.79 7.23 1.85 3.16 2.62 3 . 2 4 1 . 1 7 13.07 5.50 1.05 . ) I 2 . 1 3 .74 .51 .53 . I 5 .08 .09 .08 .08 . I 2 9 .33 2.60 .88 .39 Basin (192) ( 1 92) ( 1 92) (192) ( 1 92) (192) 0 9 2 ) (192) (192) (192) (192) ( 2 2 ) (22)
T a b l e 1 3 . Lake Huron: Major Elemen t Concentrations ( / by w t . )
Mn 0 5 - -
Ti02 '2'5 - -
Na20 K2° Fe 0 4 0 CaO - - - - 2 3
A I 0 - 2 3
SiOz Reach No. of
- S D X S D S D X S D X S D X S D X SD X S D X S D X S D X No. Samples - X SD X
# I 19 52.77
*2 I9 50.70
83 15 61.62 W 0
(15)
(59) I44 59 61.04
Whole 117 58.77 Basin (119)
14.31 4.99 .44
20.26 5.34 1.33
19.01 5.89 1.60 (15)
15.73 5.45 2.11 (59)
16.99 5.60 1.85 (119)
1.90 1.18 5.43 1.87 12.97
1.67 .78 4.59 1.89 14.65
1.50 .93 3.47 1.72 10.94 (15) (15) (15)
(59) (59) (59) 1.90 1.17 3 . 2 3 1.27 13.34
1.79 1.07 3.72 1.807 12.96 ( 1 19) (119) (119)
3.63 1.21 .21 1.02 .I8
6.45 .88 .25 1.60 .6;
5.13 .99 .26 1.72 .66 (15) (15)
(59) (59) 5.93 .79 .I7 1.55 .80
5.60 .96 .34 1.52 .71 (119) (119)
.27 .23 . l l . 0 3 .07 .04
.27 . I 7 . I 1 . 0 3 .05 .01
.20 .I5 .09 .03 .Ob .02 (15) (15) (15)
. 2 3 . I 7 . I 1 .03 .06 .02 (59) (59) (59)
.24 . I 7 . I 0 .03 .06 .03 ( 1 19) (119) (119)
.01 0
.02 .02
.04 .07 ( 1 5)
.03 .05 (601
.02 .04 ( 1 20)
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r_
T a b l e 1 7 . Lake E r i e : S h o r t Term M a j o r E lement L o a d i n g s ( i n m e t r i c t o n s / y e a r )
Reach No.
S i O2 *'2'3 Fe 0 2 3
CaO Na 0 2 K2° T i 0 2 '2'5 Mn 0 5 c 0 2 0r5.c
# I 117,501 14,449 5,819 5,739 24,042 1,966 4,294 883 280 140 i80 18,101 2,608
#2 832,559 128,856 56,583 56,583 245,862 14,521 38,723 8,178 2,503 1,335 3,505 163,908 18,861
113 5,822,992 789,237 389,609 379,590 1,581,814 116,882 229,313 67,903 17,810 11,131 7,792 1,075,322 97,958
#4 548,844 69,456 26,957 32,521 111,380 1 1 ,895 20,338 4,029 1,439 767 191 81,736 5,084
w P
1 Who 1 e B a s i n 7,664,512 1,009,370 441,163 452,331 1,824,684 146,589 297,366 71,200 20,941 12,564 11,168 1,302,548 122,855
Whole b a s i n l o a d i n g s d e t e r m i n e d u s i n q t o t a l sed iment l o a d i n g and mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n for a l l samples.
ln 5? I .- Q
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36
Chemical f r a c t i o n a t i o n o f b l u f f m a t e r i a l s was c a r r i e d o u t t o
determine t h e forms of phosphorus u s i n g t h e technique o f W i l k i n s -- e t a l .
(1976) i n which o r g a n i c P, a p a t i t e P and n o n - a p a t i t e i n o r g a n i c P were
determined.
a p a t i t e P and n o n - a p a t i t e i n o r g a n i c P (NAIP) were determined.
presumed t o be p redominan t l y bound by t h e i r o n o x i d e component o f t h e
sediment ( W i l l i a m s , 1976). F u r t h e r , as d iscussed by t h e same author ,
a p a t i t e P i s o n l y s p a r i n g l y s o l u b l e under t h e pH c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e Great
Organic P proved t o be i n s i g n i f i c a n t and two f r a c t i o n s
N A I P i s
Lakes and i s cons idered t o r e p r e s e n t t h e n o n - a v a i l a b l e f r a c t i o n .
Table 20 summarizes t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of a p a t i t e P and t o t a
P on t h e samples used f o r t h e f r a c t i o n a t i o n by l a k e and by l a k e reach
Also, t h e a p a t i t e o r n o n - a v a i l a b l e P f r a c t i o n i s expressed as a
percentage of t o t a l P .
l o n g and s h o r t - t e r m l o a d i n g o f a v a i l a b l e P sunmarized i n Table 21.
These d a t a have been used t o compute t h e t o t a l
These d a t a a r e p laced i n p e r s p e c t i v e w i t h t h e t o t a l phosphorus
loads t o t h e l akes i n Table 22.
computed i n PLUARG s t u d i e s a r e used. These loads do n o t i n c l u d e t h e
t o t a l phosphorus l o a d i n g t o t h e l akes f rom s h o r e l i n e e ros ion . The
percentage c o n t r i b u t i o n s of t o t a l P and a v a i l a b l e P f o r l o n g and s h o r t -
term e r o s i o n r a t e s a r e p resen ted i n Table 22 f o r b o t h 1976 t o t a l P
l o a d i n g p l u s t h e s h o r e l i n e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f t o t a l and a v a i l a b l e phosphorus.
Other than t o t a l e r o s i o n phosphorus i n Lake E r i e , t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n
T o t a l phosphorus loads f o r 1976 as
percentages between t h e 1976 annual l o a d i n g and 1976 p l u s s h o r e l i n e
t o t a l phosphorus a r e sma l l .
37
Tab le 20. A p a t i t e phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n Canadian s h o r e l i n e b l u f f s .
L A K E ONTARIO
% APAP/ To t . P To t . P
- APAP
- X S.D. n X S.D. n
Whole b a s i n 482.13 196.6 16 601.47 223.63 17 80.16%
#1 579.4 50.61 5 688.6 73.65 5 84.14% #2 387.5 233.2 4 481.5 212.93 4 80.48% #3 649.6 301.93 2 799 .O 381.84 2 81.30% #4 393.6 185.2 5 543.0 245.99 6 72.5%
LAKE E R I E
- - X S.D. n X S.D. n % APAP/
T o t . P Whol e b a s i n 395.31 143.59 13 457.62 158.63 13 86.38
#1 295.67 8.96 3 367 .O 21.63 3 80.56 #2 - #3 485.29 125.96 7 564.14 147.41 7 86.022 #4 285.0 120.24 3 343.0 19.3 3 83.09
- - - - - -
LAKE HURON
- - X S.D. n X S.D. n % APAP/
T o t . P Whol e b a s i n 184.0 110.74 8 288.11 183.09 9 63.86
#1 90.0 1 283.0 371.94 2 31.80 # 2 193.0 168.29 2 242.5 184.55 2 79.59 #3 71 .O 1 176.0 - 1 40.34
#4 231.25 94.56 4 291.5 142.62 4 79.33
38
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Table 22. Phosphorus from shore l i ne eros ion as percentage o f t o t a l l a k e phosphorus loadings f o r 1976 -- Canadian sho re l i ne
Lake Huron
1976 To ta l Phosphorus l oad ing 4957 m. t. 1
Shore Eros ion
Tota l Phosphorus m. t. Ava i l ab le Phosphorus m . t .
Long Shor t Term Term
Long Shor t Term Term
Annual Loading
P f rom eros ion as percent 1976 load ing
P from eros ion as percent 1976 load ing + To ta l P from eros ion
131 499
2.7 10.3
2.6 9.3
44 212
0.9 4.4
0.9 4.0
Lake E r i e
1976 To ta l Phosphorus l oad ing 17474 m . t . 1
Long Shor t Long Shor t Term Term Term Term
Annual Loading 591 2 951 2 849 1352
P f rom Eros ion as percent 1976 load ing 33.8 54.4
P from Eros ion as percent 1976 load ing + Tota l P from eros ion 25.3 35.2
Lake Ontar io
4.9 7.7
3.6 5.0
1 1976 To ta l Phosphorus l oad ing 11755 m . t . Long Shor t Long Shor t Term Term Term Term
Annual Loading 777 742 152 138
P f rom eros ion as percent 1976 load ing 6.6 6.3
P f rom Eros ion as percent 1976 load ing + To ta l P f rom eros ion 6.2 5.9
1.3 1.2
1.2 1.1
'Excludes t o t a l Phosphorus f rom shore eros ion 40
T o t a l phosphorus l o a d i n g f r o m s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n i n Lakes Huron
and O n t a r i o a r e smal l w i t h a maximum c o n t r i b u t i o n o f approx imate ly 10% o f
t h e t o t a l phosphorus l o a d i n g s t o Lake Huron. I n Lake E r i e t o t a l phosphorus
f rom s h o r e l i n e e r o s i o n r e p r e s e n t s a l a r g e component o f t h e t o t a l phosphorus
l o a d w i t h a c o n t r i b u t i o n o f up t o 54%. A v a i l a b l e phosphorus f o r a l l l a k e s
r e p r e s e n t s o n l y a smal l f r a c t i o n o f t h e t o t a l phosphorus l o a d s . Maximum
percentages occur i n Lake E r i e where t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f a v a i l a b l e
phosphorus f rom t h e Canadian s h o r e l i n e accounts f o r about 8% o f t h e t o t a l
l a k e phosphorus l o a d e x c l u d i n g t h e s h o r e l i n e t o t a l P c o n t r i b u t i o n .
These d a t a as sumnarized i n Table 22 i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n
o f t o t a l phosphorus t o Lake E r i e i s s i g n i f i c a n t b u t i s low f o r t h e l a k e s
Huron and O n t a r i o i n terms o f t o t a l l a k e phosphorus l o a d i n g . The d a t a
f u r t h e r i n d i c a t e t h a t a v a i l a b l e P represents a smal l f r a c t i o n o f t h e t o t a l
phosphorus mass balance and thus cannot be cons t rued as a major source of
n u t r i e n t s t o t h e lakes .
Trace Elements
Mean t r a c e element c o n c e n t r a t i o n s by l a k e reach and by l a k e a r e
summarized i n Tables 23, 24 and 25.
may be i n d i c a t i v e o f t h e n a t u r a l background l e v e l s o f these elements i n
p a r e n t l a k e sediment m a t e r i a l .
l a k e sediment va lues f o r f i v e meta ls i s g i v e n i n Table 26.
i n Tab le 26 f o r t h e open l a k e a r e des ignated r e c e n t and p r e - c o l o n i a l .
fo rmer i n d i c a t e s mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n f o r t h e upper 1 o r 2 cent imeters o f sediment
whereas t h e l a t t e r occurs a t a depth below t h e i n c r e a s e i n Ambrosia
Concent ra t ions throughout a r e low and
A comparison o f b l u f f c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o open
The va lues g iven
The
1 p o l l e n
'Ambrosia - common ragweed which f l o u r i s h e d a f t e r f o r e s t c learance and c r e a t i o n o f p a s t u r e .
41
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Table 26. Comparison of mean metal concentrations in bluffs to open lake, present and pre-Colonial sediments (after Kemp & Thomas 1976a).
Lake Huron Sediments Lake Erie Sediments Lake Ontario Sediments
E 1 emen t Recent Pre-Colonial Bluff Recent Pre-Colonial Bluff Recent Pre-Colonial Bluff
Hg PPb 210 150 23 855 78 19 2350 78 20
P Pb PPm 129 39 18 106 28 17 220 29 18
Ln PPm 197 94 29 279 98 46 475 104 42
Cd PPm 2 1 1.2 4 1 1.3 5 1 1.5
cu PPm 58 38 18 57 29 15 98 44 19
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T a b l e 28. Lake O n t a r i o : Shor t Term Trace Element Loadings ( i n m e t r i c t ons /yea r )
Reach Hg Pb cu Zn Ni co C r Cd Be V S r U Ag Mo Se As T 0 t . N C 1 F No.
#l -02 10.3 17.0 29.8 13.1 7 . 9 16.0 0 . 6 0.9 34.7 142.8 0 . 6 0.3 1 . 1 1.7’ 1.8 0.02 34.4 250.4
#2 .L 0.4 0 .5 0.8 0.3 0.2 0 . 2 0.03 0.04 1 . 1 10.3 0.03 0.01 0.07 0 . 2 0.06 * 2.4 6.7
#3 -006 6 .7 4 .3 10.1 5 .4 3.8 7.2 0 .5 0 .4 17.1 118.7 0.3 0 . 2 1 . 1 1 . 1 ’ 0 . 9 ~ 0.01 4 2 . 0 103.1 P
#4 .003 3.8 3.3 11.6 4.1 3.4 3 . 6 0 . 6 0 . 4 10.4 121.9 0 . 3 0 .2 0 .9 0 . 3 0.6 0,003 31.0 95.6 2 Who1 e
Bas in .024 23.0 23.4 52.8 21.4 14.9 22.9 1 . 9 1 .8 57.1 419.1 1 . 1 0.8 3 0 0 3 .7 3 . 3 0 .03 105.6 442.9
.I-
Less than 1 . O Kg
Loading c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g whole b a s i n mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n .
Whole b a s i n l oad ings determined u s i n g t o t a l sediment l o a d i n g and mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n f o r a l l samples.
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which marks t h e i n f l u x o f western man i n t o t h e r e g i o n . Hg, Pb, Zn and Cu
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n t h e b l u f f m a t e r i a l s show lower values t o those observed
i n p r e - c o l o n i a l sediment which i n t u r n a re lower than those i n t h e r e c e n t
sediment. The inc reased va lues i n t h e p r e - c o l o n i a l sediment r e p r e s e n t a
l a c u s t r i n e background l e v e l and a r e e l e v a t e d due t o a f i n e r t e x t u r e ( h i g h e r
p e r c e n t c l a y c o n t e n t ) r e s u l t i n g f rom l a k e sediment s o r t i n g processes. The
inc rease i n r e c e n t sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n s f rom p r e - c o l o n i a l l e v e l s i n c l u d i n g
Cd (Tab le 2 6 ) i s due t o i nc reased load ings f rom anthropogenic sources. The
h i g h e r va lue f o r Cd i n t h e b l u f f s ove r t h e observed va lue i n p r e - c o l o n i a l
sediment (Tab le 2 6 ) has n o t been e x p l a i n e d b u t p robab ly i n d i c a t e s
Cd assoc ia ted w i t h a coa rse r sediment f r a c t i o n . However, Cd c o n c e n t r a t i o n s
a r e low even though t h e i nc reases f rom p r e - c o l o n i a l t o r e c e n t concen t ra t i ons
i n Lakes E r i e and O n t a r i o a r e s i g n i f i c a n t .
Loadings f o r a l l t h e t r a c e elements analysed f o r t h e t h r e e l a k e s ,
b o t h l o n g term and s h o r t term f o r t h e Canadian e rodab le s h o r e l i n e a r e g i ven
i n Tables 27 t o 32 i n c l u s i v e .
Loadings Summary
I n o r d e r t o p l a c e i n p e r s p e c t i v e , t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n of elements
d e r i v e d f rom t h e Canadian s h o r e l i n e t o Lakes Huron, E r i e and O n t a r i o , a summary
o f l oad ings f o r s e l e c t e d me ta l s Organic C, n i t r o g e n and phosphorus i s p rov ided i n
Table 3 3 . B l u f f l oad ings a r e g i ven i n comparison t o es t ima tes o f t h e elements
accumulat ing i n t h e open l a k e sediments and n o t i n r e l a t i o n t o t o t a l l a k e
i n p u t l oad ings . Anthropogenic and n a t u r a l l o a d i n g es t ima tes f o r t h e open
l a k e sediments were determined, as p r e v i o u s l y desc r ibed , by use o f p re -
c o l o n i a l and r e c e n t sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n s and a mean annual sedimentat ion
52
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r a t e from the Ambrosia pollen hor i zon t o present.
of annual accumulation are based on the period 1835 t o present, o n l y the
l o n g term erosional loadings from the b l u f f s are used in Table 33. I n a l l
cases the t o t a l Canadian b l u f f l o a d i n g i s l ess t h a n the n a t u r a l annual
loading.
the f a c t t h a t the natural loading i s a composite o f a l l sources t o the e n t i r e lake
a t background leve ls . Such sources include watershed loadings and shoreline
erosion.
Since the estimates
This n o t only r e l a t e s t o texture as discussed e a r l i e r b u t r e f l ec t s
The shoreline loading of each element expressed as a percentage
of the to ta l annua l accumulation in the open lake sediments for each lake
i s given in Table 33.
extremely small, r a n g i n g from 0.2% for mercury t o Lake Ontario t o
C u , a lso t o Lake Ontario.
shoreline erosion t o Lake Erie i s s ign i f icant ly higher t h a n the other two
lakes and r e f l ec t s the large volumes of b l u f f sediment being eroded from the
C a n a d i a n shoreline of t h i s lake. The percentage contributions are highest
f o r Cd a n d C u w i t h 25.6 and 2 2 . 1 percent respectively. The marked increase in the
n a t u r a l p re -co lon ia l l o a d i n g f o r Lake Erie over Lakes Huron and O n t a r i o (Table 33)
r e f l e c t s the larger volumes of materials derived from shoreline erosion
i n d i c a t i n g t h a t t h i s process has been operating i n a consistent fashion a t
l e a s t over h i s tor ica l times.
For Lakes Huron a n d Ontario these percentages are
8.3% for
The percentage contribution of elements from
Conclusions
as follows:-
1 ) Shoreline erosion i s a s
Lakes, par t icu lar ly Lake
The major conclusions t h a t can be derived from th i s study are
ment t o the Great gnif icant source o f sed
Erie ,
54
5)
7)
Shoreline erosion has been a continuing process of consis tent
magnitude t h r o u g h a t l e a s t the past 150 years.
Concentrations of elements are a t background level and equate t o
the concentrations observed i n deep pre-his tor ic open lake sediments.
The contribution of t o t a l phosphorus t o the lakes i s low in Lakes
Huron and Ontario b u t h i g h in Lake Erie , with maximum percentages
of 9.3, 6 . 2 and 35.2 percent respectively.
The contribution of avai lable phosphorus i s low fo r a l l three
lakes with maximum percentages of 4 .0 , 5.0 and 1 . 1 f o r Lakes
Huron, Erie and Ontario expressed against the 1976 to t a l phosphorus
1 oadi n g s .
The contributions of Hg, P b , Z n , Cd, C u , Org C and N from
shoreline erosion expressed as percentages of the annual loadings
t o the sediment are low except fo r Cd, Cu and Org. C in Lake
Erie. The loadings i n t h i s lake however s t i l l represent a background
condition and are lower t h a n the to ta l estimated natural loading
t o the open lake as indicated by pre-colonial l o a d i n g estimates.
On the basis of 1 t o 6 above, elements derived from shore1iri.e
erosion -- do n o t cons t i tu te a water qual i ty problem t h o u g h shoreline
erosion as such remains a problem insofar as i t a f fec ts property
loss and value.
55
R E F E R E N C E S
Canada-Ontario, Grea t Lakes Shore Damage Survey Technical Report .
Fisheries and Environment Canada/Ministry of Natural Resources
On ta r io . 97 p .
Coakley, J . P . , and G . S . Beal . 1972 SEDAN - A computer program f o r
sediment p a r t i c l e s ize a n a l y s i s . Can. In land Waters Dir. Rep.
S e r . 20: 33 p .
Kemp, A . L . W . 1971. Organic carbon and n i t rogen i n the s u r f a c e
sediments of Lakes On ta r io , Erie and Huron. Journa l of
Sedimentology 41: 537-548.
Kemp, A . L . W . , and R . L . Thomas. 1976a. Cu l tu ra l impact on the
geochemistry of the sediments of Lakes On ta r io , Erie and
Huron. Geoscience Canada 3: 191-207.
Kemp, A . L. W . , and R . L . Thomas. 1976b. Impact of man's a c t i v i t i e s
on the chemical composition i n the sediments o f Lakes O n t a r i o ,
Erie and Hurcjn. Water, Air, and S o i l P o l l u t i o n 5: 469-490.
Kemp, A. L . W . , 6 . A. MacInnis and N. S. Harper . 1977. Sedimentat ion
Journa l o f r a t e s and a revised sediment b u d g e t f o r Lake Erie.
Grea t Lakes Research 3: 221-233.
Rukavina, N . A . 1976. Nearshore sediments of Lakes On ta r io and Erie.
Geoscience 3 : 185-190.
S l y , P . G . 1977. Sedimentary Environments i n the Grea t Lakes. Proc.
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Symposium - I n t e r a c t i o n s between sediments and
f r e s h w a t e r , Amsterdam, S e p t . 1976. ed. H . L . Golterman, J u n k
and Pudoc. 1977: 76-82.
56
Thomas, R. L. and C . I . D e l l . 1978. Sediments o f Lake Super io r .
Submit ted t o Jou rna l o f Great Lakes Research.
C . F. M. Lewis. 1972. D i s t r i b u t i o n ,
o f
Thomas, R. L. , A. L. W. Kemp, and
compos i t ion and c h a r a c t e r
Lake O n t a r i o . Jou rna l o f
s t i c s o f t h e s u r f i c i a
Sed i menta ry Pet r o 1 ogy
1973
Wi l l i ams , J . D. H., J
phosphorus i n
o f t h e F i s h e r
-M. Jaquet and R.
sediments
42: 66-84
The s u r f c i a1
sediments o f Lake Huron. Canadian Jou rna l o f E a r t h Sciences
10: 226-271.
Thomas, R. L. , J.-M. Jaquet, A . L. W. Kemp and C . F. M. Lewis. 1976.
S u r f i c i a l Sediments o f Lake E r i e . Jou rna l o f t h e F i s h e r i e s
Research Board o f Canada 33: 385-403.
L . Thomas. 1976. Forms o f
t h e s u r f i c i a l sed ments of Lake E r i e . ' Journa l
es Research Board o f Canada 33: 413-429.
Wong, H. K. T., and A. L. W . Kemp. 1977. The d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t o t a l
n i t r o g e n i n sediments u s i n g an i n d u c t i o n fu rnace. S o i l Science
124: 1-4.
57
