WATERS OF LIFE
THE WATER MASSES
- INTRODUCTION - THE WATER MASSES
- PORTRAIT OF LAKE SAINT-PIERRE
PORTRAIT OF LAKE SAINT-PIERRE
Lake Saint-Pierre, a fluvial lake that is part of the St. Lawrence River, is a vast aquatic ecosystem that stretches from the Berthier-Sorel islands to Trois-Rivières.
Solitary Sandpiper
Lake Saint-Pierre’s designation as a Ramsar site in 1998 indicates its significance among wetlands worldwide.
In 2000, UNESCO designated Lake Saint-Pierre as a Biosphere Reserve to highlight the quality of its natural environment and the efforts that have been taken to preserve this unique ecosystem.
Water transparency is measured with a Secchi disk. The greatest depth at which the disk remains visible is recorded.
Light penetration of water is measured using a LI-COR photometer.
The biologists take the measures of the LI-COR photometer.
An oxygen probe measured dissolved oxygen and water temperature.
The Hydrolab multi-meter probe indicates the amount of dissolved oxygen as well as the water temperature, conductivity and pH.
The Niskin bottle is used to collect water samples at a specific depth.
Samples of algae (phytoplankton) are preserved in a brown container. This avoids exposing the sample to light, which could alter the amount of chlorophyll-a in the algae.
Transparent containers are used to preserve samples of zooplankton and to collect water for nutrient analysis (nitrogen,phosphorus, carbon).
VIDEO - 6 min 18 s
Richard Carignan is a tenured professor at the Département de sciences biologiques de l'Université de Montréal. He is part of the Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie et en environnement aquatique (GRIL).
WWW | USEFUL LINK - RICHARD CARIGNAN
THE WATER MASSES
PORTRAIT OF LAKE
SAINT-PIERRE
WWW | USEFUL LINKS
The Ramsar Convention on Weltlands
Biosphere Reserves - UNESCO
Réserve de la biosphère du Lac-Saint-Pierre
