Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.C.E.

Degree Name

MS in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.)

Degree Granting Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Major Professor

Mauricio E. Arias, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Osama Tarabih, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Qiong Zhang, Ph.D.

Keywords

Algae Blooms, Geochemical Processes, Nutrients, Watershed, Weather Events

Abstract

Hurricanes are natural events with catastrophic outcomes, while climate change's effects on their intensity and frequency remain discussed. However, it is crucial to analyze these through models and statistics to understand their behavior and impact on the basins. Particularly in lakes on tropical coasts since disruptive events such as hurricanes tend to be highly affected. Lake Okeechobee is a unique lake located in Florida and one of the largest freshwater lakes. The lake and some of its significant stations are the locations chosen to perform the investigation. The main focus of the investigation is determining the effect that hurricanes have on the generation of algae blooms and how total phosphorus concentrations were influenced by nutrient mass balances and internal geochemical processes of the lake. While investigating the variability of the stations, there were no significant differences in the concentrations of ammonia (NH4+), nitrates (NOx), total phosphorus (TP), and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a). Moreover, the concentrations of NH4+, TP, NOx, and Chl-a in the lake and the canal on the lake side responded to hurricanes, showing differences with the control periods (no storm/hurricanes) and how these affected the algal blooms. Additionally, some processes such as external load, diffusive phosphorus, and settling showed a correlation and influenced TP when hurricanes occur.

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