Turnover redistributes nutrients within the water column. Which is a likely consequence?

Turnover redistributes nutrients within the water column. Which is a likely consequence?

• A. Nutrients are redistributed within the water column
• B. Nutrients are permanently stored in sediments
• C. Nutrients are removed to atmosphere
• D. Nutrients are concentrated in the deepest layer

Answer: (A)

Turnover is the mixing of the entire water column that happens when a lake moves out of thermal stratification, typically in spring and fall. This mixing brings nutrients that have settled into deeper waters or at the sediment-water interface up into the upper, sunlit layers where phytoplankton and aquatic plants can use them. Because of this mixing, nutrients are exchanged throughout the water column rather than staying locked in sediments or being lost to the atmosphere; they are redistributed within the water column.

Turnover is the mixing of the entire water column that happens when a lake moves out of thermal stratification, typically in spring and fall. This mixing brings nutrients that have settled into deeper waters or at the sediment-water interface up into the upper, sunlit layers where phytoplankton and aquatic plants can use them. Because of this mixing, nutrients are exchanged throughout the water column rather than staying locked in sediments or being lost to the atmosphere; they are redistributed within the water column.