Lakes Lagoons Estuaries Kayal Backwaters

I BSc Geology: University College: Lakes A.P.Pradeepkumar March 2010 Trivandrum, Kerala, India geo.pradeep@gmail.
com
LAKES, LAGOONS, ESTUARIES
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I BSc Geology: University College: Lakes A.P.Pradeepkumar March 2010 Trivandrum, Kerala, India geo.pradeep@gmail.com
I BSc University College: Lakes, Estuaries and Lagoons Sedimentary environments are places where sediments collect and sedimentary rocks form. They can be grouped into three main areas: terrestrial (land), marine, and transitional (border) environments. 1. Terrestrial sedimentary environments (land) (a) Rivers, streams, and ponds (b) Lakes (c) Swamps (d) Deserts (e) Glacial environment 2. Transitional environments (border areas between the land and marine environments) (a) Beach and barrier islands (b) Delta (c) Lagoons (d) Estuaries 3. Marine environments (a) Continental shelf (b) Continental slope and rise (deep sea fans) (c) Abyssal plain (d) Reefs LAKES Lakes are defined as bodies of slow moving water surrounded by land. They represent about 2 per cent of the Earths surface but contain only about 0.01 per cent of the worlds water. They are temporary features of the landscape on a geological timescale, but they can exist for very long periods and therefore strongly influence the human development of a region. Lakes can also provide a record of the regions environmental history in their sedimentary record. The term shoreline is used for the coastlines of lakes, estuaries and lagoons, where the tide range is generally small and the intertidal zone narrow or nonexistent. The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world and accounts for 40 to 44 percent of the total lacustrine waters of the world. It is a saltwater lake that lies between Europe and Asia (surface area 371,000 sq. km).
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The following figure gives the percent of total water bodies on the Earth
Limnology: The study of lakes is called limnology. Limnologists are scientists who study lakes. They characterize lakes in a number of ways, including their geologic origin, mixing behaviour and nutrient status.
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The worlds largest lakes The worlds largest lakes are the Caspian Sea, Superior, Victoria, Huron, Michigan, Tanganyika, Great Bear, Baikal, Malawi, Great Slave and Erie. The Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi are in Africa, Baikal is in North Asia, and the rest are in North America. Most lie in the Northern Hemisphere. Four of these lakesSuperior, Huron, Michigan, and Erieform, together with Lake Ontario, the Great Lakes system between the United States and Canada. Although only seventh largest in area, Lake Baikal is the most voluminous lake, containing 23,000 km3 of water, because it is the deepest, with a maximum depth of 1,940 m How do lakes form? The depressions or basins in the Earths surface that collect water to become lakes can be formed by several geologic and geomorphic processes. Glaciation: The majority of the Earths lakes (72 per cent) have been created by glaciation. High alpine cirque lakes, lowland kettles and kettle holes and glacial ice-scour lakes are abundant in the regions once covered by ice. The great volume of meltwater often results in the formation of glacial lakes between the end moraines and the retreating glacier front. The sediments that form at the bottom of the lake consist of fine-grained silt and clay that have an alternating light-dark layering. A varve consists of one light-colored
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bed and one dark-colored bed that represent a single year's deposition. The light-colored layer is mostly silt that was deposited rapidly during the summer months; the dark layer consists of clay and organic material that formed during the winter. The age of a glacial lake can be determined from the number of varves that have formed on the lake bottom. Pluvial lakes formed during the wetter, very rainy climates that existed during and after glacial retreat. For example, the Great Salt Lake in Utah in USA is a remnant of a much larger pluvial lake. Most pluvial lakes have shrunk because of the more arid conditions that have prevailed since they formed.
Erosion lakes: An erosion lake occurs in rock basins gouged out by ice sheets or in hollows worn away by wind in a desert. Lough Derg in Ireland shows the classic shape of an erosion lake Drainage modification lakes: Other lakes are generated by the modification of drainage systems, or the impoundment of flowing waters by natural disasters such as landslides or human activity such as damming. Riverine or fluvial lakes, such as those developed on floodplains, deltas and blocked valleys, comprise 10 per cent of the worlds lakes and are the dominant lake type in low latitudes.
Deposition lakes: A deposition lake occurs when a stretch of river has been cut off from the rest of the river through the deposition of sediment, as happens with the creation of an oxbow lake. Ice deposited by a glacier can also create a deposition lake, for example, Lake Vatnsdalur in Iceland.
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Erosion and deposition lakes: Some lakes are formed by a combination of erosion and deposition. Glacial erosion can create a cirque, hollow, or U-shaped valley that is then blocked by moraine. Lake Seneca in New York State is the result of moraine damming a glacial valley. Chemical dissolution of rocks also generates basins that collect water. E.g., Sink holes in limestone terrain can host lakes Some lake basins are excavated by wind and are called dune lakes. Hollows in dune topography that pass beneath the level of the water table are occupied by dune lakes, some of which may be intermittent, forming only when the water table rises after heavy rains, and drying out subsequently. They are also known as window lakes. Dune lakes are usually round or oval in shape as the result of wave and current action generated on them by wind action. The mountain ranges in arid regions cause a series of rain shadows that create the desertlike climate. Most of the rainfall in the mountains carries rock debris and sediment out to the alluvial fan that forms at the mouth of a canyon. If the water runs out farther into the center of the valley, it forms a playa lake. Typically shallow and muddy from clay, it evaporates quickly, leaving a flat, hard, dried clay surface that is broken by desiccation cracks. If the water carries dissolved salts, salt flats will result. These are the flattest geomorphic surfaces on the Earth. Catastrophic geologic origins include tectonic activity and volcanism. The deepest of the Earths lakes are caused by tectonic faulting, whereas the clearest of lakes are found in the craters of old volcanoes.
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Earth-movement lakes: An earth-movement lake, such as those in deep rift valleys, forms as a result of movements in Earths crust that create a natural basin or trough in which water can accumulate. The Dead Sea, a saltwater lake in the Great Rift Valley, is one of the best examples.
Volcanic lakes: A volcanic lake occurs when water fills up the crater of a dormant or extinct volcano, or when a volcanic eruption causes a lava flow to block up a river, creating a lake upstream. Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, is one of the worlds largest volcanic crater lakes.
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Lava lakes: These are not lakes containing water, but containing lava. Lava lakes are often a product of Hawaiian eruptions where fluid basalt will pond in vents, craters, and wide low spots. Sometimes lava pours from a vent within a crater or wide depression and fills it. Today, active lava lakes are found in only a few places: Mount Erebus in Antarctica, Erta Ale in Ethiopia, and Nyiragongo in the Congo. As a lava lake cools, a silvery crust of only a few centimeters thick forms on the surface of the lake. This crust is constantly disturbed and reformed. The movement of the molten lava beneath the crust causes it to crack into slabs that sink. The newly exposed lava cools to form another crust and the process begins all over again. Lake deposits Nonmarine evaporites form in areas usually far from the sea like in dried lake beds. These are found in desert-region lakes with little or no river outlet. In these places, minerals come into the lake from chemical weathering and erosion, but without water current cannot move out. One of the best known examples of this is the Great Salt Lake in Utah in the western United States. Rivers bring ions into the lake, but there they stay when the water evaporates. The concentrated dissolved ions in the Great Salt Lake make it one of the saltiest places on Earth, with levels eight times saltier than seawater. The Rann of Kutch is an example from India, where large evaporitic salt deposits are found. The most common minerals found in evaporite deposits of dried lakes are gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) and halite (NaCl). Gypsum is used in plaster and wallboard, and halite is common salt. Evaporites form economic deposits in many basins and coastal areas.
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Lake morphology The nearshore region of lakes is called the littoral zone while the open water deeper portion is called the pelagic zone. Littoral zones support rooted plants, some of which are visible above the water surface and are called emergent plants. The littoral extends to the depth of water able to support rooted plants and it represents that region to which light can penetrate, allowing photosynthesis of these primary producers. Lake classification based on internal properties Lakes are classified physically by their mixing behaviour which is a function of their thermal structure. Solar energy enters the lake at the water surface and is attenuated as it moves down through the water column. Heat is therefore transferred predominantly to the surface waters. Warm water lies above the colder, denser water creating a separation or stratification of water layers. The warmer surface waters are known as the epilimnion while the cooler bottom waters are called the hypolimnion. The point where the temperature transition is most extreme between these two layers is called the thermocline and that portion of the lake is termed the metalimnion. There are a large number of variations in lake circulation and stratification recognized by limnologists. Some of these, applied to lakes deep enough to form a hypolimnion, are summarized below: Amictic lakes permanently isolated from the atmosphere by ice cover. Cold monomictic 4oC; one period of circulation in the summer. Cool dimictic Lake-water freely circulates twice yearly in spring and autumn Warm monomictic greater than 4oC; freely circulating in the winter and stratifying directly in the summer. Oligomictic rare circulation; greater than 4oC, stable stratification with small temperature versus depth variations. Polymictic common circulation due to strong winds and/or strong short-term temperature variations. Meromictic a pycnocline separates near-permanent saltier bottom water from the main water mass. Water is an unusual liquid, it is most dense at 4oC, meaning that water both warmer and cooler than 4oC will be more buoyant and rise to a layer above. Water in its solid form, ice, is less dense than water and thus floats at the lake surface. The unique density characteristics of water ensure that lakes do not freeze from the bottom up and that most temperate lakes have bottom waters with moderate under-ice temperatures (4oC) to support life. Depending on the temperature (and therefore density) differences between the epilimnion and hypolimnion the two parcels of water may be very resistant to mixing. During periods of strong stratification the two compartments of water do not interact, or mix, and therefore their exchange of materials is restricted. The movement of both soluble and low density particulate material entering a lake can be confined to surface waters if the density differences at the metalimnion are extreme. When denser particulate
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matter settles through the metalimnion and enters the hypolimnion it will be stored and/or decomposed, but until the stratification is reduced all these materials (e.g. nutrients, pollutants, particles) will remain in the bottom waters. Chemical changes associated with the decomposition of the particles, such as reduced oxygen levels, are now confined to the bottom waters as there is little exchange of water and chemicals across the thermocline. In well-stratified, productive lakes oxygen depletion or anoxia often occurs in the bottom waters due to the oxygen demand of the organic-rich sediments. Anoxic conditions at the sedimentwater interface also generate chemical alterations in the sediment, resulting in increased exchanges between sediments and overlying water. When stratification breaks down, due for example to the cooling of surface waters with changing seasons, and the water column becomes isothermal (one temperature) there is little resistance to mixing. Wind energy at the water surface can mix the full water column which is called turnover. This full lake mixing brings nutrients and chemicals from the hypolimnion to mix with the surface waters. Lakes in different climatic regions exhibit different annual patterns of stratification and so can be classified in this way. Lakes which mix twice a year are common in the temperate regions where cold winters give way to springtime heating generating isothermal conditions as the lake warms to 4oC. Again in the autumn the lakes cool, causing destratification and an isothermal situation which allows autumnal winds to mix the bottom with the surface waters. This mixing, twice annually, is termed dimictic. Monomictic lakes mix only once per year and are found in high elevation and high latitude areas, while polymictic lakes, commonly located in equatorial regions, mix many times a year. Note that mixing is important in the transfer of both nutrients and pollutants in lakes. A less common but environmentally significant situation is a meromictic lake which has a bottom water layer that is chemically different from the rest of the water body. This generates a large enough density difference that even when the system is isothermal a chemical density gradient restricts this bottommost layer from mixing. This is often caused by salinity differences or groundwater inputs of differing chemistry. In this case the exchanges between the bottom sediments underlying the meromictic layer are restricted from delivering to the full water column. Trophic state of a lake A lakes ability to support plant and animal life defines its level of productivity, or trophic state. Lakes are commonly classified based on their productivity. (1) Low productive oligotrophic lakes are generally deep and clear with little aquatic plant growth. These lakes maintain sufficient dissolved oxygen in the cool, deep-bottom water during late summer to support cold water fish, such as
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trout and whitefish. (2) High productive eutrophic lakes are generally shallow, turbid, and support abundant aquatic plant growth. In deep eutrophic lakes, the cool bottom waters usually contain little or no dissolved oxygen. Therefore, these lakes can only support warm water fish, such as bass and pike. (3) Lakes that fall between these two classifications are called mesotrophic lakes. (4) Lakes that exhibit extremely high productivity, such as extensive algae and weed growth are called hypereutrophic lakes. Thus based on a lakes productivity it may be classified into one of the four. Euxinic environment is a marine environment in which the bottom water is poorly ventilated, deficient in oxygen, and (in extreme cases) characterized by the presence of hydrogen sulfide, i.e. chemically reducing conditions. Such conditions apply, for example, to parts of the Black Sea. One effect is that the floor of the Black Sea is sparsely populated with living organisms. Paleolimnology, or the use of lake sediments for reconstructing past events, requires some means of dating the accumulated material and a variety of methods exist (e.g. 210Pb, 14C, 137Cs, thermoluminescence dating).
Figure: Limnological terms for the zonation, thermal structure and particulate sources to lakes. The general distribution of lake primary production and resultant oxygen profiles are also presented What is a seiche? Waves on lakes are called seiche. A seiche (pronounced "saysh") is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches can be observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, and seas. The key requirement for the formation of a
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seiche is that the body of water be at least partially bounded, allowing the formation of the standing wave. The Ramsar Convention and Lakes: The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Negotiated in the 1960s by countries and nongovernmental organizations that were concerned at the increasing loss and degradation of wetland habitat for migratory waterbirds, the treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. In Kerala, Sasthamcotta, Ashtamudi and Vembanad Lakes are under the Ramsar Convention, meaning that these lakes should be preserved from degradation and all efforts should be taken to preserve their pristine nature. Some important INDIAN LAKES are 1. Bangalore city lakes 2. Bhopal's Upper and Lower Lakes - also named Bhoj Wetland, Madhya Pradesh 3. Bombay city's lakes - Powai, Tulsi, Vihar lakes 4. Wular Lake, Dal Lake & Nagin Lakes, Jammu and Kashmir (Nagin is called Jewel in the Ring) (Wular is called the flood-lung of the Jhelum River) 5. Hyderabad city lakes, - Hussain Sagar other lakes 6. Kodaikanal Lake & the Ooty lake, Tamil Nadu 7. Lakes of Kumaon hills - Nainital, Bhimtal, Sat-Tal, & Naukuchiatal in Uttaranchal State This is called the Lake District of India 8.. Mysore city's five lakes- Kukkarahalli, Lingambudhi, Karanji, Devanoor, and Dalavai, 9. Rabindra Sarovar, West Bengal 10. Sukhna lake, Chandigarh 11. Udaipur city's five Lakes - Fatehsagar, Rangsagar, Pichola, Swaroopsagar and Dudh Talai B. Non-Urban Lakes a) Inland Fresh Water 1. Harike Lake, Punjab 2. Kanjli Lake, Punjab - Religious significance 3. Keoladeo National Park or Bharatpur lake, Rajasthan : Also called 'Ghana National park' - Most famous waterfowl reserve 4 Loktak Lake, Manipur - - 'Worlds only floating National Park 5. Mirik Lake or 'Sumendu Lake' West Bengal 6. Nalsarovar Lake, Gujarat 7. Pong Dam lake, Himachal Pradesh 8. Ropar lake, Punjab, 9. Renuka lake, Himachal Pradesh - Shape of Lady - Embodiment of goddess Renuka.
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b) Inland Brackish/salt water 1. Lonar Lake, Maharashtra - 1.8 km in diameter, worlds largest meteor impact crater lake in basaltic terrain. 2. Pangong Tso lake - Leh, Greatest lake in the Himalayas- Bi-nation lake (India & China). 3. Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan - India's largest salt lake - Ornithologists delight. 4. Tsokar lake at 4,485 m - Leh, J&K -'Lake of salt'. 5. Tsomoriri lake or "Mountain Lake" at 4,595m , J & K -- Highest cultivated land in the world c) Sacred lakes & Tanks 1. Pushkar lake, Rajasthan. 2. Shambhu Lake, Maharashtra C. Coastal Estuarine Lakes of brackish water (Salt and Fresh Water Mix) 1) Ashtamudi Lake, Kerala 2) Chilka Lake, Orissa -- Largest brackish water lagoon in Asia 3) Kuttanad lagoon, Kerala, Five major rivers drain - Most area consists of freshwater 'kayal' or backwaters - 'One of the few places below sea level with farming' 4) Pulicat Lake, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu, - Second largest brackish water lagoon in India - Unique for its multi-ecosystem. 5) Vembanad-Kol Lake system, Kerala -- Fed by 10 rivers -Two distinct segments of fresh water & salt water. D. Ephemeral Lakes (called Beels, Jheels & Tals) of the Ganga - Brahmaputra Basins 1) Deep or beel or lake, Guwahati city, Assam 2) Kawar (Kabar) Lake, Bihar 3) Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh Hemmed between Godavari and the Krishna river basins. ( 4) Mokama Tal (Lake), Bihar Estuaries An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and within which seawater is diluted with fresh water derived from land drainage. An estuary may also be defined as the seaward part of a drowned valley system, subject to tidal fluctuations and the meeting and mixing of fresh river water with salt water from the sea, and receiving sediment from its catchment and from marine sources. Channels shaped by unidirectional river flow widen downstream to estuaries subject to alternating inflow (flood currents) and outflow (ebb currents), with rapid variations in current velocity through the tidal cycle. The morphology of an estuary represents an
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adjustment between the capacity of its channels and creeks and the volume of water moved in and out by tidal oscillations (the tidal prism).
Fig.: Estuary zones related to tidal conditions and salinity. Fresh water outflow from the river meets salt-water inflow from the sea as it rises and falls with the tide. Most estuaries are found on coastal plains. As infilling proceeds, estuaries that were originally deep and branching become shallower and simpler in configuration. Funnelshaped estuaries, widening seaward, are best developed on coasts with a large tide range. The morphology of an estuary can be related to hydrodynamic processes, such as river flow, tidal currents associated with the incoming tide wave, wave action, chemical processes such as the flocculation of fine grained sediment, and biological processes such as the growth of salt marsh, mangroves or sea-grass vegetation and the generation of shelly deposits. These processes are complex and variable over time and within an estuary. Salt-water penetration from the sea characterizes estuaries. The upstream limit of an estuary can be defined as the point where salinity falls below 0.1 ppt or where the dissolved ions (notably carbonates) become radically different from those (sodium, chlorides) found in seawater. The seaward limit of an estuary can be taken as the point where seawater (salinity about 35 ppt) is undiluted by fresh water from rivers. Alternatively, the upstream limit of an estuary can be taken as the point where tidal oscillations fade out, or where marine and estuarine sediments give place to fluvial sediments. Sea water is denser than river water, and as it enters an estuary it forms an underlying salt wedge that moves upstream, while the fresh river water spreads downstream over it, the junction between upper fresh and lower salt water being sharply defined.
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Estuaries can also be classified by tide range, which strongly influences estuarine processes. A microtidal estuary is dominated by wind generated waves and discharging river currents, and has a relatively narrow intertidal zone, a mouth often encumbered by spits and shoals or a sandy threshold and a salt wedge that moves in and outwith the tides. There are often bordering beaches and spits, and estuary-head river deltas. A mesotidal estuary has stronger tidal currents, a wider intertidal zone with mudflats and salt marshes or mangrove swamps, and multiple meandering channels and creeks. A macrotidal (and megatidal) estuary is dominated by tides and tidal currents, and is usually funnel shaped, with a broad mouth and linear banks. Estuaries have three zones: an outer, marine-dominated zone with net sediment flow landward, a central zone of relatively low wave energy and convergence of marine and fluvial sediment and an inner river-dominated zone where net sediment flow is seaward. There wave-dominated and tide-dominated estuaries. Wave-dominated estuaries have prominent depositional sandy thresholds at the mouth, with bordering beaches and cliffs, a central zone of muddy deposition and a river delta upstream. Tide-dominated estuaries have rivers flowing into tidal channels that wind through extensive mudflats and marshlands to shoaly mouths that may have tidal deltas. The meeting and mixing of fresh water from the river and brackish water from the sea determine salinity regimes within an estuary. The salinity distribution within an estuary can be modified by turbulence and by the effects of strong wind action and fluvial discharge, especially during phases of river flooding. Evolution of an estuary During the Last Glacial phase, late in Pleistocene times, rivers drained valleys that descended to a lower sea level. The land surface at that time was submerged by the sea, then buried beneath Holocene estuarine sediments (the present day beaches). Some of this sediment has been brought down by the river, some has come from bordering slopes and some has been washed in from the sea: the proportions vary from estuary to estuary Enclosure by spits and barriers accelerates the natural reclamation of an estuary by diminishing wave and tidal scour and impeding outflow of sediment, but increased river discharge and/or channel narrowing can intensify current velocity and increase scour along channels. Continuing coastal submergence tends to postpone infilling by deepening the estuary and widening its mouth. Kerala kayals Based on morphology and lithology, two types of coastal lands have been identified in Kerala by Prof K. P. Thrivikramji (retd Univ of Kerala, Geology dept) i.e. permeable or strand plain shorelines associated with low coastal land (e.g. Sanghumugham) and impermeable or cliffed shoreline linked with high coastal land (e.g Kovalam) have been recognized. Low coastal land is home to kayals (lake) of shore-parallel (type I, e.g.
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Kavvai kayal and Kayamkulam kayal), shore oblique (type II, e.g. Vembanad kayal), and shore-transverse types (type III, e.g. Ashtamudi kayal). Freshwater kayals of low midlands (type IV, e.g. Sasthamkotta kayal and Vellayani kayal) are geologically older in comparison with types IIII. Geologically, rock-bound and rock-floored basins of highlands are the oldest among all. All basins changed into proto-kayals with the onset of monsoon climate in the peninsula, i.e. by late Cretaceous or ~66.40 million years before the present. Finally, the coastal tertiary sedimentary basin was perhaps a mega kayal in the geological history of Kerala. Geologically, all basins and consequently kayals and associated wetlands are landforms with a short lifespan. LAGOONS Coastal lagoons are areas of relatively shallow water that have been partly or wholly sealed off from the sea by the deposition of spits or barriers, usually of sand, built up above high tide level by wave action. The Paravoor kayal is an example of a lagoon. This definition excludes lagoons enclosed by coral reefs, either within atolls or between fringing or barrier reefs and the mainland, because these are essentially marginal marine environments linked with the open sea at high tide. Most lagoons are to some extent estuarine, being subject to tidal oscillations and the interaction of salt water from the sea with fresh water from inflowing rivers, and much that has been said about estuaries also applies to coastal lagoons. The simplest lagoons are found where the mouth of a river has been enclosed by a wave built barrier. Such a barrier may be breached from time to time by stormwaves, or when river floods pour out over it after heavy rain, but usually it is soon rebuilt by wave action when fine weather returns. Lagoons of this type are common on oceanic coasts, where barriers have been built across drowned valley mouths by the action of strong swell. Some lagoons (like those of Kerala) are long and narrow, parallel to the coast and separated from the sea by barriers built up in front of the former coastline. Coastal lagoons occur on about 12 per cent of the length of the worlds coastline. An inventory prepared by UNESCO listed about 450 coastal lagoons on the worlds coastline Coastal lagoons are generally about 6000 years old, having formed where valley mouths or lowlands have been submerged by the sea during the later stages of the world-wide Holocene marine transgression. Some also existed during Pleistocene phases of relatively high sea level, enclosed by Pleistocene barriers. The majority of coastal lagoons are simply the product of barrier and spit deposition across inlets and embayments that formed in Holocene times. Coastal lagoons have a variety of shapes and sizes, related to the configuration of the preexisting coastline and the enclosing spits and barriers, as modified by internal erosion and deposition around their shores and on their floors. They are best developed on low
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lying coasts behind shallow coastal seas. They are poorly developed on coasts dominated by high retreating cliffs,
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Fig. The formation of a coastal lagoon by barrier formation (a), (b) is followed by reed swamp encroachment (c) and a vegetation succession to scrub (d), (e) and forest (f), (g) as the lagoon fills with sediment and peat deposits Estuaries are river mouths influenced by tides and salinity from the sea. They are shaped largely by currents, particularly where the tide range is large, but waves may shape the shores of wide estuaries. There are often distinct ebb and flood channels, as well as threshold bars and tidal deltas at the marine entrance. They are subject to interactions between fluvial and marine processes and sediments, and are generally being filled with sediment. Coastal lagoons have been produced by marine submergence, then partly or wholly enclosed by longshore spits or barriers. They have one or more marine entrances, generally maintained by tidal ebb and flow, and incursions of seawater through these produce a salinity gradient from marine through brackish to fresh water at river inflows. Tide range in a lagoon generally diminishes from a marine entrance, except on arid coasts where lagoons may become hypersaline or dry out as salt flats. Major lakes of Kerala Vembanad Lake: Max. length Max. width Surface area Rivers flowing into it 96 km 14 km 1512 km Achenkovil, Manimala, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Pamba, Periyar Vembanad Lake (Vembanad Kayal is India's longest lake, and is the largest lake in the state of Kerala. It is also one of the largest lakes in India.
Location in Kerala The Vembanad wetland system covers an area of over 1512 km.[2] The lake is bordered by Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. It lies at sea level, and is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island. Canals link the lake to other coastal lakes to the north and south. Several rivers flow into the lake, including the Achenkovil, Manimala, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Pamba and Periyar. The lake surrounds the islands
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of Pathiramanal, Perumbalam and Pallippuram. The Vembanad Lake is approximately 14 kilometres wide at its widest point. A unique characteristic of the lake is the location of the Thanneermukkom salt water barrier. The Thanneermukkom salt water barrier was constructed as a part of the Kuttanad Development Scheme to prevent tidal action and intrusion of salt water into the Kuttanad low-lands. It is the largest mud regulator in India. This barrier essentially divides the lake into two parts - one with brackish water perennially and the other half with fresh water fed by the rivers draining in to the lake. This barrier has helped the farmers in Kuttanad - where farming is done below sea level. It has however also created ecological problems, primarily, the rampant propagation of the Water Hyacinth in fresh water. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. In Cochin, the stretch from Kochi Azhi to Munambam Azhi, the serene backwaters are popularly known as Veeranpuzha. It is the northern extension of Vembanad Lake. The town of Alappuzha (also known as Allepey),sometimes called the "Venice of the East" for its large network of canals that meander through the town - is sandwiched between the lake and the Arabian sea. The Vallam Kali (the Snake Boat Race) held every year in August is a major attraction. The race is held in an extension of the Vembanad lake called the "Punnamada Kayal" Over 1.6 million people live on the banks of the Vembanad lake and are directly or indirectly dependent on it for their livelihoods. Vembanad Lake is at the heart of Kerala Backwaters tourism with hundreds of kettuvallams crisscrossing it and numerous resorts nestling on its banks. The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake. The lake is famous for its scenic beauty and has become a major tourist attraction. Ecological Importance Vembanad Wetland was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. It is home to more than 20,000 waterfowls in India - the third largest such population in India. It is also an ideal habitat for shrimps. Ashtamudi Lake Location Kollam District, Kerala Surface area 61.4 km2 Max. depth 6.4 m Water volume 76,000,000,000 m3 Surface elevation 10 m Islands Munroe Island Chavara Ashtamudi Kayal in the Kollam District of Kerala, India, is the second largest and deepest wetland ecosystem, a palm-shaped (also called octopus-shaped) large water body, next only to the Vembanad estuary ecosystem of the state. Ashtamudi means 'eight branches' (Ashta = 'eight'; mudi = 'branch') in the local language of Malayalam. This name is indicative of the lake's topography: a lake with multiple branches. The lake is also called the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala. Ashtamudi Wetland was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands..
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Along both banks of the lake and its backwater canals, coconut groves and palm trees interspersed with towns and villages are seen. Quilon is an important historic port town located on the right bank of the lake and boat cruises are operated by the Kollam Boat Club from Quilon to Alappuzha providing transport access to many other towns and villages along this route, apart from the luxury house boats which also operate in the lake. The boat journey is an 8 hour trip, winds through lakes, canals and water bound villages, and gives a complete exposure to the beauty of the backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake. Chinese fishing nets, called cheena vala in the Malayalam language, are used by local fisherman and are a common sight along the waterway. The lake and the city of Quilon on its banks and the Neendakara port at the confluence offer the transport means for states trade and commerce in cashew trading and processing industry and marine products industry. The lake is the source of livelihood for the people living close to it in fishing, coconut husk retting for coir production and inland navigation services. Kallada River Kallada River is a major river discharging into the Ashtamudi Lake. The Kallada river, which originates near Ponmudi from the Kulathupuzha hills Western Ghats in Thiruvananthapuram District, is formed by the confluence of three rivers, viz., Kulathupuzha, Chenthurnipuzha, and Kalthuruthipuzha, and after traversing a distance of about 121 km (75 mi) through virgin forests finally debouches into the Ashtamudi wetland at Neendakara (a fishing harbour) near Kollam as it enters the Lakshadweep Sea, part of the Arabian Sea. With a maximum depth of 21 ft (6.4 m) at the confluence, it is Keralas deepest estuary.[8][9] The average annual runoff from the river system into the estuary is reported to be 76 cubic kilometers of freshwater.[9] The basin drainage area is 1,700 km2 (660 mi2) and with an average annual rainfall of 2400 mm (94 in) it discharges 3.375 km3 (2,740,000 acft) of flow annually. It acts as a flood storage lake thus protecting the thickly populated city of Quilon (Kollam) and the coastal land. The Kallada dam built across the Kallada river is 85.3 m high by 35 m long (280 ft by 115 ft) with a reservoir area of 23 km2 (8.9 mi2) with a storage volume of 0.505 km3 (409,000 acft). Though it provides irrigation to 61630 ha for paddy and upland crops, it has aggravated the salinity ingress into the wetland and the river due to reduced outflows during summer months.[3] Islands in the lake Munroe Island (Munroethuruth) is a cluster of eight tiny islands in Ashtamudi Lake. Chavara South, a small village, an island within the Ashtamudi Lake, located 14 km (9 mi) away from Quilon on the National Highway NH 47, is reported to be mineral rich with number of factories for extraction and export of titanium and other minerals. Effluent from the factories is reported to be causing pollution of the lake waters. Thekkumbhagom island, situtaed on the bank of the Ashtamudi Lake, provides an enchanting natural beauty and also feel of rustic life of a village. The significance of this village is due the fact that the first epic poetry in the Malayalam language,
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Ramachandravilasam, was composed by the poet Azhakath Padmanabha Kurup in this village. An ancient 1000 year old temple and a 200 year old church are located here. Deterioration of the lake environment The following are reported to be the reasons for deterioration of the lake environment: Intense anthropogenic pressure. Oil spills from thousands of fishing boats and from industries in the surrounding area. Dwindling of the fragile lake zone due to conversion/destruction of natural habitats for development purposes (reported that the lake which had an area of 54 km2 [21 mi2] according to old survey reports has shrunk to 34 km2 [13 mi2] due to encroachments) Large quantities of untreated sewage, disposal of human excreta, and the pollution from paper mills, industries (aluminum, ceramics, seafood), as well as from coconut husk retting. Many fish species may have become extinct due to lack of spawning facilities on the banks of the lake due to canalization of the lakes banks by walls built of laterite and granite stones (these walls reportedly cover 80 per cent of the lake's banks) Sasathamkotta Lake Surface area 373 ha Average depth 6.53m Max. depth 15.2m Water volume 22.4 M.m3 Surface elevation 33m Settlements Karunagapally and Sasthamkotta also categorized as a wetland, is the largest fresh water lake in Kerala, a state of India on the south of the West Coast. The lake is named after the ancient Sastha temple (a pilgrimage centre) located on its bank. It meets the drinking water needs of half million people of the Quilon district and also provides fishing resources. The purity of the lake water for drinking use is attributed to the presence of large population of larva called cavaborus that consumes bacteria in the lake water.The lake is a designated wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention since November 2002. The Lake is located at a distance of 29 km from Quilon city, which is on the left bank of Ashtamudi Lake. Thiruvanantapuram International Airport, at 105 km, is the nearest airport to Kollam. Karunagapally, at a distance of 2 km, is the closest town to the lake. A ferry service across the lake transports people between West Kallada and Sasthamkotta. The Lake water is reported to be free of common salt or other minerals and metals. The quality for surface water, interstitial water and sediments studied by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), India are briefly as noted below. Water quality test results indicate that the lake water conforms to standards of drinking water prescribed by regulatory bodies. Lonar Lake In Buldana District of Maharashtra, is a nearly circular crater, suspected to have developed due to impact of a large meteorite on Deccan Basaltic rocks of Cretaceous age. A meteorite is a recovered fragment of natural object orbiting in space, that has survived transit through the earth's atmosphere. Such hypervelocity large meteoritic impacts on
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earth produces craters. Approximately 130 terrestrial craters are currently recognised, ranging in size up to several hundred kilometers in diameter and age upto 2 Ga. The Lonar Crater has an average diameter of 1710 m, average rimheight of 40 m and depth of 230 245 m. The circular depression bears a saline water lake in its central portion. Dead sea a salt water lake, is located between (A) Israel and Jordan (B) Egypt and Libya (C) Israel and Lebanon (D) Morocco and Spain Ans : (A) Which country of Europe is known as the 'Country of Lakes' ? (A) Finland (B) Italy (C) France (D) Spain Ans : (A) The biggest lake of fresh water in the world is (A) Baikal lake (B) Superior lake (C) Nyasa lake (D) Victoria lake Ans : (B) The river Mississipi falls in (A) The Gulf of Mexico (B) Atlantic Ocean (C) Pacific Ocean (D) Superior lake Ans : (A) Which of the following statements about lake stratification is true? a. Stratified layers of lakes are characterized by vertical mixing. b. Stratification increases levels of dissolved oxygen, especially in the bottom layer. c. Lakes are more vulnerable than streams to contamination by plant nutrients, oil, pesticides, and toxic substances that can destroy bottom life. d. Lakes have more flushing than streams ANS: C
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Which of the following statements is false? a. Rivers are more vulnerable than lakes to contamination by plant nutrients, oil, toxins, and pesticides. b. Acid deposition and fallout represent a more serious hazard to lakes than rivers. c. Eutrophication is a natural process and can occur without the influence of humans. d. Human activities can induce cultural eutrophication ANS: A Which of the following developments of cultural eutrophication would occur last? a. fish kills b. blooms of algae c. increase in aerobic bacteria d. increase in anaerobic bacteria ANS: D All of the following strategies would help prevent cultural eutrophication except a. banning the use of phosphate detergents. b. preventing the runoff of fertilizer from agricultural fields. c. advance treatment of municipal sewage. d. stopping release of toxic heavy metal pollution. ANS: D In a lake polluted with pesticides, which one of the following will contain the maximum amount of pesticides? 1. small fish 2. microscopic animals 3. big fish 4. water birds Answer: 4
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Lakes Lagoons Estuaries Kayal Backwaters

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Lakes Lagoons Estuaries Kayal Backwaters

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I BSc Geology: University College: Lakes A.P.Pradeepkumar March 2010 Trivandrum, Kerala, India geo.pradeep@gmail.

LAKES, LAGOONS, ESTUARIES

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