limnology

Subdiscipline of hydrology that concerns the study of fresh waters, specifically lakes and ponds (both natural and manmade), including their biological, physical, and chemical aspects. François-Alphonse Forel (1841–1912) established the field with his studies of Lake Geneva. Limnology traditionally is closely related to hydrobiology, which is concerned with the application of the principles and methods of physics, chemistry, geology, and geography to ecological problems.

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Limnology (from Greek: Λίμνη limne, "lake"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the division of hydrology that studies inland waters (running and standing waters, both fresh and saline), including their biological, physical, chemical, geological and hydrological aspects. This includes the study of (natural and man-made) lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, wetlands and groundwaters.

Traditionally, limnology is closely related to hydrobiology, which is concerned with the application of physics, chemistry, geology, and geography to ecological problems.

History

The term limnology was coined by François-Alphonse Forel (1841-1912) who established the field with his studies of Lake Geneva. Interest in the discipline rapidly expanded, and in 1922 August Thienemann (a German zoologist) and Einar Naumann (a Swedish botanist) co-founded the International Society of Limnology (SIL, for originally Societas Internationalis Limnologiae). Forel's original definition of limnology, "the oceanography of lakes", was expanded to encompass the study of all inland waters.

Prominent early American limnologists included G. Evelyn Hutchinson, Ed Deevey, E. A. Birge, and C. Juday.

Organizations

• American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
• Australian Society for Limnology
• European Society of Limnology and Oceanography
• German Society of Limnology (www.dgl-ev.de)
• Italian Association for Oceanology and Limnology (AIOL) (www.aiol.info - R.Bertoni)
• The Japanese Society of Limnology
• International Society of Limnology (SIL, formerly Societas Internationalis Limnologiae) (limnology.org)
• Brazilian Society of Limnology ()
• New Zealand freshwater Sciences society ()
• Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists ()

Journals

• Hydrobiologia
• River Research and Applications
• Aquatic Conservation
• Advances in Limnology
• Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology
• Journal of Limnology (- - Journal webpage - R.Bertoni)
• Limnologica
• Limnology and Oceanography
• Journal of Coastal Research
• Freshwater Biology
• Journal of Ecology and Fisheries,Executive editor:V.B.Sakhare,E-mail:vbsakhare@rediffmail.com

See also

• Important publications in limnology
• G. Evelyn Hutchinson
• Freshwater biology
• Marine biology
• Oceanography
• Limnic eruption
• Lake aeration
• Paleolimnology

Resources

• The History of Limnology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: A digital resource documenting three generations of limnological research in Wisconsin. Much of the collection comes from the archives of the UW-Madison Center for Limnology. It focuses on three important pioneers of limnology, Dr. Edward A. Birge, Chancey Juday and Arthur D. Hasler, as well as Wisconsin research laboratories and field equipment. Presented by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.
• Breaking new waters: a Century of Limnology at the University of Wisconsin: A special publication of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in celebration of a century of limnological research.
• Review (German) on Jerry R. Miller's and Suzanne M. Orbock Miller's critical scientific study Contaminated Rivers A Geomorphological-Geochemical Approach to Site Assessment and Remediation

References

Other important reference works

• Gerald A. Cole, Textbook of Limnology, 4th ed. (Waveland Press, 1994) ISBN 0-88133-800-1
• Stanley Dodson, Introduction to Limnology (2005), ISBN 0-07-287935-1
• A.J.Horne & C.R. Goldman: Limnology (1994), ISBN 0-07-023673-9
• G. E. Hutchinson, A Treatise on Limnology, 3 vols. (1957-1975) - classic but dated
• H.B.N. Hynes, The Ecology of Running Waters (1970)
• Jacob Kalff, Limnology (Prentice Hall, 2001)
• B. Moss, Ecology of Fresh Waters (Blackwell, 1998)
• Robert G. Wetzel & Gene E. Likens, Limnological Analyses, 3rd ed. (Springer-Verlag, 2000)