Impact of a flood event on the biogeochemical behaviour of a mesotrophic alpine lake: Lake Bourget (Savoy)

A flood event which occurred during the onset of thermal stratification and of algal growth (March 1996) was studied in mesotrophic Lake Bourget (France). Both physical and biogeochemical processes occurring during this episode were assessed. The dominant effect was a decrease of nutrient concentrations along the river-lake ecotone. This phenomenon seemed mainly linked to biological factors: stimulation of the spring algal and bacterial growth. After the flood, the algae aggregated with allochthonous particles brought by the river and were rapidly eliminated by sedimentation. The effect of this early spring flood, seemed spatially restricted and rather neutral as regards lake water quality. In the lake region crossed by the river plume, the overall effect after the flood was a decrease of P available for the phytoplankton. In the open water, the P concentration was probably not modified by the load supplied by the flood.