Grasmere Lake Water Quality and Phytoplankton Data, 2014-2018

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology collected this long-term monitoring dataset from fortnightly sampling at Grasmere in Cumbria, England. It comprises surface temperature, oxygen saturation, water clarity, alkalinity, pH, and concentrations of nutrients and phytoplankton chlorophyll a from January 2014 to March 2018. The dataset is part of the UK-SCAPE programme and ended due to funding shortages.

Use Cases

• Modeling lake thermal dynamics based on surface temperature time series.
• Analyzing eutrophication trends based on nutrient (ammonium, nitrate, phosphate) and chlorophyll a concentrations.
• Studying seasonal phytoplankton productivity based on chlorophyll a measurements.
• Assessing water chemistry and acidification status based on alkalinity and pH data.

Strengths

• Data collection began in 1968 for some variables, providing long-term context.
• Measurements include 11 distinct water quality and biological variables.
• Sampling was conducted fortnightly, providing a regular temporal resolution.
• Data provenance is clear, collected by UKCEH and supported by a specific NERC grant.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The monitoring program ended in March 2018, limiting data freshness for current conditions.

Provenance

Source

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Environmental Information Data Centre.

Collection Method

Fortnightly sampling from a boat at a marked buoy at the deepest part of Grasmere, with occasional shore sampling.

Time Range

January 2014 to March 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-19 07:37:26.426337; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Grasmere, Cumbria, England.