Late Quaternary Sediment Source and Deposition History of Lake Ozette
Ritchie A and Bourgeois J. 2010. Late Quaternary Sediment Source and Deposition History of Lake Ozette. Unveristy of Washington, Seattle, WA
This study was funded by the National Park Service to understand conditions in Lake Ozette prior to land-use changes in the 20th century, and to determine the magnitude of change that has occurred over the last 100 years. Lake Ozette is home to a genetically distinct stock of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), which declined sharply in the 1950s, coincident with stream clearing activities and timber harvest in the basin. Despite nearly three decades of study and efforts to rebuild the population, Ozette sockeye remain depressed, and were llisted as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in March 1999. This study examines how modern land-use/land cover, lakeshore characteristics, and sediment accumulation rates in Lake Ozette differ from those prior to the collapse of Lake Ozette sockeye salmon. Specific research goals include: Describe shoreline changes and changes in watershed land use at a sub-basin resolution in the context of fine sediment sources and sediment composition, and in the context of physical processes acting to create, maintain, and destroy habitat used by, or suitable for spawning sockeye salmon. Quantify sediment input rates to Lake Ozette over the past 500 years, at a decadal to centennial resolution, and at a sub-basin scale where possible. Document limnological characteristics of Lake Ozette with respect to isotopes of nitrogen and carbon over the past 500 years.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Ritchie, Andy; Bourgeois, Joanne
- Date of Issue
- 2010-07-29
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- Isotopes, Lake Ozette, Land Use, Limnology, Olympic Naitional Park, Onchorynchus nerka, Ozette River Watershed, Sediment accumulation, Sockeye Salmon, Threatened & Endangered