Abstract
The Laguna de Río Cuarto, situated 360 m above sea level on the Caribbean side of the Cordillera Volcánica Central in Costa Rica, is a meromictic Maar. The water surface has an area of 33.24 hectars, the maximum depth reaches 66 m and the mean depth 45.5 m. The lake volume is 15.12 x 106 m3. Season al variations of surface temperature have been observed between 26.4 and 29.9°C, whereas the temperature of the hypolimnion (at 60 m) fluctuates only between 24.2 and 24.4°C. The depth of the boundary layer between the oxic and the anoxic, H2S containing water body oscillates between 25 m (January/February) and 20 m (May/June). About 55 % of the water body (mean value) is permanently anoxic. The vertical distribution of the nutrients, low concentrations in surface water s and high ones in deep waters, is related to the permament stratification of the lake.
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Copyright (c) 1987 Revista de Biología Tropical