Amchitka Bioenvironmental Program Limnology of Amchitka Island, Alaska Annual Progress Report July 1, 1970 - June 30, 1971

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY AMCHITKA BIOENVIRON MENTAL PROGRAM LIMNOLOGY OF AMCHITKA ISLAND, ALASKA ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT Prepared for the U, S, Atomic Energy Commission under Contract No. AT(26-1)-171 BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Printed in the United States of America. Available from National Technical Information Service U.S. Department of Commerce This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States nor the United States Atomic Energy Commission, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontrac tors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that Its use would not infringe privately owned Price: Printed copy $3.00; Microfiche $0.65 BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY AMCHITKA BIOENVIRON MENTAL, PROGRAM LIMNOLOGY OF AMCHITKA ISLAND, ALASKA ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT Prepared for the U, S, Atomic Energy Commission under Contract No. AT(26- 1)- 171 BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY TABLE OF CONTENTS METHODS AND MATERIALS......................................................................................................................... 2 ^ EFFECTS OF MILROW ON INTENSIVE-STUDYLAKES............................................................ 3 Chemical and Physical Data........................................................................................................... 3 Chemical and Physical Data..................................................................................................................20 Effects of Storm Conditions on SelectedAmchitka Lakes.................................................... 32 ® BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Milrow Effects — Intensive-Study Lakes........................................................ 5 Table 2. Pre- and Post-Milrow Chemical and Physical Parameters of Table 3, Zooplankton Population Concentrations in Milrow Intensive-Study Lakes Immediately Before and After and One Year After the Event . 15 Table 4. Total Organic Matter Concentrations in Open Lake Water .... 19 Table 5. Rates of Production of Total Organic Matter by Periphyton Organisms September and October, 1970 ................................................................ 19 Table 6. Rates of Carbon Fixation by Phytoplankton April and May, 1971 . . 20 Table 8. Chemical and Physical Parameters of Cannikin-Effects Table 9. Zooplankton Population Concentrations of Cannikin-Effects Table 10, Pre- and Post-Storm Analyses on Ten Amchitka Lakes.............................33 Table 1 1. Summary of Results of Pre- and Post-Storm Analyses of Ten LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Milrow-Cannikin Effects Study Lakes........................................................................ 4 Figure 2. Cannikin-Effects Evaluation Lakes Within 3200 m of SZ ..... 21 BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY AMCHITKA BIOENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM LIMNOLOGY OF AMCHITKA ISLAND, ALASKA Limnologiaal investigations on Amchitka Island.! Alaska, were conducted during Fiscal Year 1971 to (l) assess the nature and magnitude of effects on chemical, physical, and biological parameters to fresh water ecosystems resulting from Milrow on October 2, 1969, and (2) study selected freshwater ecosystems in order to form a basis for predicting and evaluating the nature and magnitude of the effects of Cannikin, an underground nuclear test proposed for FY 1972. No major alterations to lakes and ponds on Amchitka resulting from Milrow were observed during FY 1971. No significant alteration in water level occurred during the year in any of the lakes studied. The absence of significant increases in alkalinities in study lakes indicates that alkaline subsurface bedrock has not been exposed to any great degree by rupturing of the overlying peat mat in the drainage basins of these lakes. Data collected on lakes in the Rifle Range Point area suggest that subtle shifts in chemical and biological parameters have occurred and are probably related to Milrow. These changes are expected to be of limited duration in the absence of further perturbations to their drainage basins. Data collected on Round Lake (3lb) suggest that the short-term post-Milrow changes in water chemistry and zooplankton populations observed on that lake were probably seasonal and not the result of Milrow. ' Observations indicate that Strange Pond (33) is rapidly re covering from increased alkalinity concentrations resulting from test-related activities. Emerald Lake (SI) has been drastically altered in chemical, physical, and biological parameters as a result of drill mud entering the lake. Recovery of this lake is expected to be very slow by comparison to that for Strange Pond. During the autumn sampling, alkalinities in the Cannikin survey lakes tended to decrease while pH values tended to increase. Zoo plankton communities were dominated by rotifers and were tending to decrease in number. Population crashes during this period were ob served in several lakes. Preliminary results of studies on the effects of severe mixing of water in lake basins near SZ site by wind action suggest that these conditions may result in changes in pH and alkalinity but no drastic changes to zooplankton populations were observed. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Since 1967, Battelie Memorial Institute, Columbus Laboratories, with as sistance from scientists in several universities, the Smithsonian Institution, the U. S, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Services, has been responsible for bioenvir onmental safety studies on Amchitka Island, Alaska, where the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Nevada Operations Office, has established a supplemental test site to conduct certain underground nuclear tests. Battelle's Columbus Laboratories (BCL) has the responsibility for planning and technical management of the Amchitka Bioenvir onmental Program with the following broad objectives: (1) prediction and docu mentation of the effects of AEC operations, including underground nuclear detonations, on the Amchitka exosystems, (2) identification and evaluation of any hazard to man as a consequence of release of radionuclides and their subsequent transport to humans via food chain pathways, and (3) recommendation of courses of action that can be followed to minimize adverse effects of AEC operations on the Amchitka ecosystems. Two under ground nuclear tests have been conducted at Amchitka. Long Shot was conducted in 1965 and Milrow was conducted October 2, 1969, following the initiation of the present bioenvironmental program. Another test, Cannikin, is planned for 1971. Investigations of the effects of AEC activities on the freshwater ecosystems of the Island have been an integral component of the Amchitka Bioenvironmental Program since its inception. The limnological investigations represent a portion of this total fresh water ecology program. This report presents the limnological data collected by the author during the Fiscal Year 1971, Limnological investigations prior to this fiscal year were conducted and reported by Dr. Derry D. Koob, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. The objectives of the limnological studies on Amchitka Island during FY 1971 were (1) to conduct follow-up analyses on physical, chemical, and biological parameters of freshwater ecosystems to assess the nature and magnitude of the effects, if any, of Milrow, and (2 j to conduct studies on selected freshwater ecosystems to form a basis for predicting and evaluating the nature and magnitude of the effects of Cannikin. METHODS AND MATERIALS Alkalinity and pH analyses were conducted on open lake water samples with an Orion model 401 specific ion meter. Alkalinities were titrated potentiometrically to end points and chloride was determined by the mercuric nitrate method (American Pub lic Health As s ociation, 1965), Specific conductance was measured with a Beckman model RB3 Solu Bridge, Phytoplankton and zooplankton were collected from about 0. 25 m below the lake surface using a Kemmerer water sampler. The organisms contained in 10 liters of lake water were concentrated to 25 ml using a $ 20 plankton bucket. The organisms were preserved in a mixture of formalin, acetic acid, glycerine, copper sulfate, and distilled water and returned to the laboratory for counting. Zooplankton were enumerated by counting in a Sedgwick-Rafter cell at 100X magnification. Phytoplankton genera were BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Primary productivity analyses were by the method of Strickland and Parsons (1968) except that the samples were incubated in a controlled environmental water bath at 2,000 footcandles rather than in situ. Periphyton were collected on glass slides ex posed on dental X-ray film holders 10 inches below the surface of the lake water. Groups of slides were removed from selected lakes after 2 weeks and preserved for analysis of total organic matter (Maciolek, 1962) and qualitative examination. The area of the exposed surface on the slides was used to extrapolate the total organic matter rate of accumulation to mg/m-2/day-1-. At this time this should be considered a relative unit useful in comparing lakes sampled. Concentrations of organic matter on the slides and in open lake water were analyzed using the oxidative dichromate method of Maciolek. EFFECTS OF MILROW ON INTENSIVE-STUDY LAKES Sixteen lakes were selected for Milr ow-related studies during the f^ll of 196?. These lakes are shown in Figure 1 and general information on their specific location, drainage, bottom compaction, and pH is presented in Table 1. The lakes were sampled to detect population trands of phytoplankton and zooplank ton genera and to monitor any gross chemical changes that might take place during the period from 2 weeks prior to 2 weeks after Milrow (Koob, 1971). These lakes have been revisited and sampled during the same period 1 year later, and again approximately 18 months after Milrow to determine if there is any evidence of long-term effects on In the criteria established for evaluation of seismic disturbance to the freshwater ecosystems, potential deterimental effects were considered to be (1) partial or complete drainage of a lake due to fracture of the bottom seal or to a breach of the peat retaining dam, (2) increase in alkalinity due to the rupture of the peat mat in the watershed with resulting exposure of surface drainage water to alkaline subsurface rock deposits, (3) decrease in primary productivity as detected by a reduction of pH, (4) reduction in plankton populations due to direct or indirect effects of the ground shockwave, and (5) increase in suspended silt load due to disturbance of sediments (Koob, 197 1). Chemical and Physical Data No significant alteration in water level was observed in any of the sixteen intensivestudy lakes during the autumn 1970 or spring 1971 sampling periods. The water level in Lake 31b (Round Lake) which had reportedly decreased approximately 25 cm by D+5 was typical of normal lake capacities during the sampling periods in FY 1971. Three lakes (23, 24, and 25), all within 0. 48 km of SZ, were not included in the intensive study lakes for Milrow, Lakes 25 and 24 located <0. 16 and 0.32 km, respec tively, from SZ were partially drained with the formation of a subsidence crater about 37 hours after the event. Water levels of these two lakes decreased further between April, 1970, and October, 1970, but did not change between October, 1970, and April, 1971. Lake 23, which is separated from Lake 24 by a narrow dike that remained intact during Milrow, appeared to be morphologically undisturbed during FY 1971. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY FIGURE 1. MILROW-CANNIKIN EFFECTS STUDY LAKES BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY TABLE 1. MILROW EFFECTS - INTENSIVE-STUDY LAKES Lake and Name 25 Heart Lake 515982 0.0 - 290 Pacific Acid 24 Lower Twin Lake 517985 0.32 - 360 Pacific -- Alkaline 23 Upper Twin Lake 518986 0.48 - 10 Pacific F irm Alkaline 26 Weed Lake 527994 1.61-37 Bering Soft Alkaline 28 Quonset Lake 519000 1.77 - 5 Be ring Firm Alkaline 7 Range Pond 515965 1.77- 192 Pacific Firm Acid 9 Rifle Pond 516963 1.93 - 189 Pacific Soft Acid 10 Duck Pond 515962 2. 10 - 190 Pacific F irm Acid 29 Long Shot Lake 512002 2.10- 345 Bering Firm Alkaline 30 Long Shot Pond 514006 2,41 - 354 Bering Soft Acid 31b Round Lake . 521016 3.54-7 Be ring Hard Alkaline 2 Clevenger Lake 556945 5.31 - 136 Pacific Soft Alkaline 33 Strange Pond 493030 5.31- 334 Bering Soft Acid 35 Mud Pond 494034 5.80 - 338 Bering Soft Acid 36 Clear Pond 493034 5.80- 336 Bering F irm A cid 5 Jones Lake 576965 6.44- 108 Bering Soft Alkaline 1 Pumphouse Lake 585932 8.41 - 129 Pacific Soft Alkaline 51 Emerald Lake 431066 12.06 - 316 Pacific Firm Acid 58b Fault Lake 393110 18.38 - 317 Pacific Hard Acid (a) Coordinates refer to approximate center of lakes. (b) Straight-line distance between surface zero and the nearest lake shore. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Table 2 presents data on pH, alkalinity, and specific conductivity prior to and following Milrow. There appears to be little evidence to date of the increased alkalin ities that would be expected in the intensive study lakes if the alkaline subsurface bed rock were exposed by event-related rupture of the peat mat in the drainage basin. The alkalinities in Rifle Range Lakes 9 and 10 during the autumn and spring FY 1971 sampling periods were slightly increased over those from similar periods in preceding years. This may be partially attributable to the activities of excavating equipment about 1 mile away, on the hilltop above the lakes, or it may be event-related. An alkalinity about six times higher than is typical for Lake 9 (Rifle Pond) and increased specific conductivity was observed on April 20, 1970, but samples collected and analyzed 10 days later indicated normal values for these parameters in that lake. Data collected in the autumn of 1970 and the spring of 1971 also showed pH and alkalinity values in that lake generally typical of those recorded prior to Milrow. Values for pH of Lake 7 (Range Pond) were slightly elevated during the autumn of 1970 over values re corded for prior autumn sampling. Lakes with pH and alkalinity values similar to Lake 10 (Duck Pond) generally show more variation in these parameters on Amchitka than do the lakes with pH < 6 and alkalinity < 3. A large increase in alkalinity reported in Lake 33 (Strange Pond) in 1969 and 1970 was probably due to a diversion of runoff water over the berm of Infantry Road into the lake during these years. Data from autumn 1970 indicate the alkalinity in that lake de creased approximately 50 percent since autumn 1969. Values of pH in Strange Pond in autumn 1970 were also decreased from those recorded in 1969 and were comparable to data collected in autumn 1967. Spring data also indicated a trend of decreasing pH and alkalinity toward values which would be typical for that type of lake in a relatively un Lake 1 (Pumphouse Lake) increased in alkalinity from 53 mg/j) in 1969 to 61,8 mg/f in 1970. Alkalinities had declined in Pumphouse Lake from 65 mg/j) in 1967 to 53 rng/£ in 1969. Values recorded during spring 1971 were comparable to those from spring 1969. Changes in the chemistry of the water in Pumphouse Lake are probably due primarily to changes in the spring water supplying the lake. The source of this water is unknown. The decrease in pH reported in Lake 29 from 7.3 and 7.5 in the autumn of 1969 to 6.8 and 6.9 in the spring of 1970 was evident in the autumn 1970 sampling when values of 6.5 and 6.9 were obtained. A similarly decreased value for pH was observed during the spring 1971 sampling period. Similarly, slightly decreased values in pH and alkalinity were indicated in the data for Lake 26 (Weed Lake). The alkalinities from October and April in Lake 58b (Fault Lake) were slightly in creased over values from the same period in 1969. The pi …