The Relationship between Phosphorus Load and Eutrophication Response in Lake Vanda

During the austral summer of 1980-1981, a study was undertaken on the applicability of the Vollenweider-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) phosphorus loadingeutrophication response relationships to Lake Vanda, a permanently ice-covered, meromictic lake located in the Wright Valley of Antarctica. The Vollenweider-OECD empirical relationships had been developed on the basis of load-response couplings for more than 300 lakes and reservoirs around the world that have a wide range of physical, chemical, and morphological characteristics. However, the Vollenweider-OECD empirical relationships had not been evaluated for their applicability to a body of water as oligotrophic as Lake Vanda or to one with its unusual physical and chemical characteristics. The Vollenweider-OECD phosphorus load-response models did indeed describe the relationships found for Lake Vanda when the model input was adjusted for the algal availability of the phosphorus load. Results of this study extend the range of conditions for types and trophic states of bodies of water for which the Vollenweider-OECD eutrophication models can be applied.