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History of Natural and Anthropogenic Activities in Lake Izabal, Eastern Guatemala: Using Geochemical Evidence to Record Recent Contamination

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History of Natural and Anthropogenic Activities in Lake Izabal, Eastern Guatemala: Using Geochemical Evidence to Record Recent Contamination Scholars' Mine Doctoral Dissertations Student Theses and Dissertations Fall 2020 History of natural and anthropogenic activities in Lake Izabal, Eastern Guatemala: Using geochemical evidence to record recent contamination Elisandra Hernandez Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations Part of the Geochemistry Commons, and the Geology Commons Department: Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Recommended Citation Hernandez, Elisandra, "History of natural and anthropogenic activities in Lake Izabal, Eastern Guatemala: Using geochemical evidence to record recent contamination" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2939. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/2939 This thesis is brought to you by Scholars' Mine, a service of the Missouri S&T Library and Learning Resources. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HISTORY OF NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES IN LAKE IZABAL, EASTERN GUATEMALA: USING GEOCHEMICAL EVIDENCE TO RECORD RECENT CONTAMINATION by ELISANDRA HERNANDEZ A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS 2020 Approved by: Jonathan Obrist-Farner, Advisor Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, Co-Advisor David Wronkiewicz John Patrick Hogan Mark Brenner © 2020 Elisandra Hernandez All Rights Reserved Ill PUBLICATION DISSERTATION OPTION This dissertation consists of the following two articles, formatted in the style used by the Missouri University of Science and Technology Paper I found on pages 2-38, published by the Journal of Environmental Sciences. Paper II found on pages 39-69 is intended for submission to the journal Aquaculture Environment Interactions. ABSTRACT Water is essential for human subsistence. Stable freshwater supplies are needed as a source of food, drinking water, for transportation, recreation and economic development. Despite their recognized importance, anthropogenic activities have altered freshwater ecosystems around the world. Lake Izabal is the habitat for diverse aquatic species of flora and fauna, some of which are endemic and endangered. Its importance notwithstanding, anthropogenic activities developed in Lake Izabal’s catchment in recent years have compromised its status. This study used paleolimnological techniques to link past and recent anthropogenic activities such as mining operations and recent tilapia aquaculture. Relative abundances and concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Ni were measured in sediments from Lake Izabal. The results suggest that high Pb and Zn near the Polochic Delta correlates with mining between -1945 and 1965 CE. The high Ni concentrations possibly indicate that recent Ni mining operations can be causing such increase, but Ni is not been widely distributed throughout the lake. The background metal levels reflected input also from natural erosion of bedrock. To assess the impact of tilapia cages, total nitrogen, total organic carbon, total phosphorus, and P-fractions were analyzed in 23 short sediment cores taken in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In general, nutrient (N, C and P) concentrations were higher in uppermost deposits of cores collected immediately beneath and near (within -50 m) tilapia cages compared to concentrations in deposits farther away. The results provide evidence of contamination from these antropogenic activities, which potentially can be useful to policy-makers and national agencies in their remediation efforts and adequate environmental mangement of Lake Izabal. V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank God for his blessings and the Universe for giving me the experience, strength, and determination to surpass all the adversities I encountered in the pursuit of my dreams. I thank Dr. Obrist-Farner, my advisor, who guided me during the last three years through my graduate education and research. He taught me to be strong, self-dependent, and to think critically. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Oboh-Ikuenobe, for her help and for always listening and giving me words of encouragement. Additionally, I would like to extend my gratitude to members of my committee, Dr. David Wronkiewicz, Dr. John Hogan, and Dr. Mark Brenner, for their assistance and expert advice. I acknowledge the GGPE Department and Missouri S&T for providing me the necessary tools and financial support. Thanks to my teammates, Edward Duarte and Erdoo Mongol, for their support during the research process. I would also like to express special thanks to my friends in Rolla, for always being there for me, you all made my time in Rolla pleasant. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge with deep gratitude the support and love of my parents Carlos and Esperanza. Without them, I could not have reached this goal. Thanks for pushing me to go further than I thought I could go. To my sister Adeleine and my brother Vladimir for their immense support. My sincerest gratitude to my fiancee Joaquin Emilio, for his perfect and endless love. Thanks for not letting me give up. And to my son Domenico, for believing in me and for his patience, he is my biggest inspiration. Without them, the completion of this study would not have been possible. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PUBLICATION DISSERTATION OPTION....................................................................iii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................. v LIST 01 ILLUSTRATIONS............................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. xi SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 PAPER I. NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES OF LEAD, ZINC, AND NICKEL IN SEDIMENTS OF LAKE IZABAL, GUATEMALA............................. 2 ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... 2 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 3 2. STUDY AREA........................................................................................................... 7 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS............................................................................... 8 4. RESULTS..................................................................................................................13 4.1. CHRONOLOGY...............................................................................................13 4.1.1. Core LI2.................................................................................................. 13 4.1.2. Core LI3.................................................................................................. 15 4.2. CORE DESCRIPTION......................................................................................16 4.2.1. Core LI1.................................................................................................17 4.2.2. Core LI2. 17 vii 4.2.3. Core 1.13.................................................................................................19 4.3. CORE GEOCHEMISTRY..............................................................................19 4.3.1. Core I.II.................................................................................................. 19 4.3.2. Core LI2..................................................................................................22 4.3.3. Core LI3..................................................................................................23 5. DISCUS SION.......................................................................................................... 25 6. CONCLUSIONS...................................................................................................... 31 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................ 32 REFERENCES............................................................................................................. 32 II. NUTRIENT RELEASE FROM SMALL-SCALE TIL APIA (Oreochromis niloticus) AQUACULTURE: A CASE STUDY FROM LAKE IZABAL, GUATEMALA........................................................................................................ 39 ABSTRACT................................................................................................................. 39 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 40 2. STUDY AREA......................................................................................................... 42 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS............................................................................. 44 3.1. SAMPLING...................................................................................................... 44 3.2. GLOCIILMICAI. ANALYSIS........................................................................ 45 4. RESULTS................................................................................................................
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