Water color affects the stratification, surface temperature, heat content, and mean epilimnetic irradiance of small lakes

By J. N. Houser. 2006

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The effects of water color on lake stratification, mean epilimnetic irradiance, and lake temperature dynamics were examined in small, north-temperate lakes that differed widely in water color (1.5–19.8 m–1). Among these lakes, colored lakes differed from clear lakes in the following ways: (i) the epilimnia were shallower and colder, and mean epilimnetic irradiance was reduced; (ii) the diel temperature cycles were more pronounced; (iii) whole-lake heat accumulation during stratification was reduced. The depth of the epilimnion ranged from 2.5 m in the clearest lake to 0.75 m in the most colored lake, and 91% of the variation in epilimnetic depth was explained by water color. Summer mean morning epilimnetic temperature was ~2 °C cooler in the most colored lake compared with the clearest lake. In clear lakes, the diel temperature range (1.4 ± 0.7 °C) was significantly (p = 0.01) less than that in the most colored lake (2.1 ± 1.0 °C). Change in whole-lake heat content was negatively correlated with water col...

Subfields: Environmental Chemistry, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Oceanography

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2dfdba026b4c7d24ae30a07e8ff327aef474f58c