A new analysis of hypolimnetic oxygen in Central Lake Erie indicates that historic increases in the apparent depletion were not as great as formerly believed. The differences that did occur were mostly related to variations in hypolimnion thickness. Changes, if any, in the oxygen depletion rate due to eutrophication are as yet too small to be recognized. Present-day oxygen depletion rates, when corrected for the relatively high temperatures in Lake Erie, are within the range thought to be indicative of mesotrophy in small lakes. The general level of oxygen depletion observed in the Central Basin of Lake Erie is expected on the basis of morphology alone.
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M. N. Charlton (1980) studied this question.