Atmospheric nitrogen pollution in urban agglomeration and its impact on alpine lake-case study of Tianchi Lake

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Oct 20:688:312-323. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.202. Epub 2019 Jun 14.

Abstract

The atmospheric pollution caused by human activities has been recognized as an important factor affecting the water quality of freshwater bodies. The process of the human factors' impact on high-altitude lakes in inland regions is not clear up to now. In this research, regions around Tianchi Lake were taken as a case study to explore the relation between the urban air pollution and alpine lake water quality. Multi-scale station observed data were analyzed for the urban NO2 pollution by means of relevance analysis and trend analysis, the field measured data were analyzed for the lake total nitrogen (TN) pollution using multiple methods including the water quantity and quality balance, remote sensing retrieval and nutrient load assessment. The sources and occurrence conditions of atmospheric pollution and lake pollution were identified by a multi-method driving factor analysis. As a result, there is sufficient direct and indirect evidence to prove that the serious air pollution in surrounding cities is an important cause of the nitrogen pollution in Tianchi Lake.

Keywords: Lake nitrogen load; Meteorological factors; NO(2) pollution; Water quality.