The environmental state of freshwater resources in Greece (rivers and lakes)

The dominant factor regulating Greek riverine dissolved inorganic solid concentrations is chemical weathering, which depends on catchment climate and petrography. The majority of Creek rivers are moderately polluted and only a few of them show significant human impact and an increase in pollutant concentrations over time. Due to droughts in recent years and anthropogenic influence, the mean annual riverine dissolved solid concentrations exhibit a general interannual increase and significant long-term variations in their intra-annual hydrochemical fluctuations. The shallow Creek lakes are eutrophic, while the deep ones are oligo-mesotrophic. The majority of the lakes are monomictic and show summer thermal stratification, while the shallow ones are characterized by anoxic hypolimnetic conditions. Catchment petrography is not a dominant factor in the composition of lake waters since biochemical processes prevail. The majority of Greek lakes are also moderately polluted and are characterized by phosphorous-limited photosynthesis.