Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Physical Features of Water

There are following features of water
 Temperature
 Light
 Water currents
 Density of water
 Turbidity of water

Temperature
Temperature is one of the most important factors in an aquatic environment. In
fact, it is possible that no other single factor has so many profound influences and
so many direct and indirect effects.

Diurnal and seasonal variations are very much common in freshwater

environments than in marine environment. A diurnal variation range of 4.8 to 5°C
has been recorded in a tropical pond with an average depth of 3.0 m. In shallow
water bodies within an average depth of 1.5 m, the lowest night temperature was
26.6°C. The highest day time temperature was 32°C with a variation of 5.4°C. In
flowing water bodies like streams and rivers there is no such wide fluctuations in
temperature. Lentic waters of lakes and ponds undergo thermal stratification
phenomenon according to seasons. Thermal stratification has been reported most
frequently in the lakes of tropical countries such as Java, Sumatra and India.

Classification of lakes according to temperature

According to temperature relations lakes have been classified into three types
1)Tropical lakes : In which surface temperature are always above 4°C.
2)Temperate lakes : In which surface temperature vary above and below 4°C.
3)Polar lakes : In which surface temperature never goes above 4°C.

Decrease in temperature cause reduction in metabolism resulting in lower rate of

food consumption. Extreme higher or lower temperature has lethal effects on the
aquatic organisms. Fluctuation in temperature of water regulates the breeding
periods, gonadal activation and thermal induced migration. On the basis of their
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

ability to tolerate thermal variations, most fresh water organisms are classified into
stenotherm and eurytherm.

Stenothermic are the organisms with a narrow range of temperature tolerance.

Eurythermic are those organisms with a wide range of temperature tolerance.

Source of heat for evaporation

a) Sun

b) Water

c) Surroundings

Inland waters are subjected to very extreme variation of temperature due to small
expanse and shallow areas and get heated rapidly during day and are cooled at
night.

Factors affecting evaporation

Rate of evaporation is determined by several factors such as

a) Temperature

b) Relative amount of free surface area of the water

c) Vapour pressure

d) Barometric pressure

e) Amount of wind action

f) Quality of water i.e. Fresh or salt

e) Thermal conductivity.

The thermal conductivity of water is very low. Heat coming to a lake from the sun
as partially absorbed and to some extent conducted, but the really effective heat
distribution is due to wind action in agitating the water and to a much more limited
extent, to convection currents.

f) Convection:
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Convection is the process of the transfer of heat by the movement of heated

particles themselves. For e.g., when water in a beaker is heated by a flame placed
below it, that portion of water first heated, expand and rise while the upper, colder,
denser portion sink. If the heat supply continues for some time, there are thus set
up ascending and descending currents by means of which heat is carried all
through the total water mass. This form of heat distribution is known as
convection. Most forms of artificial heating of water are of this type.

Convection does occur under the following conditions:

Cooling and sinking of surface water as when the sun sets and under conditions of
falling air temperature

a) Entry of colder water from a tributary

b) Cooling of surface water with the passage of autumn into winter

c) Alterations of winds and calm conditions

d) Entry of cooler subterranean water at a high level in the basin

e) Advent of rain in temperate region

f) Cooling of the surface water by evaporation.

Thermal Stratification
In tropical lake, heat intake at the surface leads to the formation of a vertical
temperature gradient, within which the thermal resistance become too great for the
existing winds to continue mixing the whole water masses. The upper warmer
layer is called epilimnion and the lower cooler layer is called hypolimnion. In
between the two distinct portions, a layer called thermocline.

Summer stratification

In summer, there are three distinct layers are called epilimnion (upper layer), a
bottom layer called hypolimnion and the middle layer called thermocline or
metalimnion.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Epilimnion:

It is upper layer of water. It is warmer layer. The temperature of this layer

fluctuates with the temperature of the atmosphere. It will be about 27°C to 21°C.
Hypolimnion:

It is the bottom layer of water. At this layer, water will be cool. The temp is
between 5°C and 7°C. It is a stagnant column of water.
Thermocline (metalimnion)

It is the middle layer. The temperature is in between the temp of the upper layer
and that of the lower layer. It is characterized by a gradation of temperature from
top to bottom. It is also called transition zone.

In deeper lakes, a seasonal, thermal phenomenon occur which is so profound and

so far reaching in its influence that it forms, directly and indirectly the substructure
upon which the whole biological framework rests, particularly in the temperature
zone. Therefore, a clear understanding of the salient features of thermal
stratification is a necessity.

Thermal relations during spring

Uniform temperature of 4°C prevails throughout the water column of the lake.
Wind depresses water at windward side and drives towards leeward side (towards
the sheltered side), sinks at this end and moves at the bottom. This results in
through mixing which is known as isothermic or homothermic condition.

During summer As spring advances warmer winds and sun’s radiation increases
surface water temperature. Water expands above 4°C and thus water at the surface
is lighter than underlying colder water. Upper layers become more warm and
lighter and no mixing can takes place. Wind drives water towards leeward and it
sinks at that side which will sink down but not reaching the bottom of the lake but
will be stopped at some intermediary level above cooler (colder) bottom water
(Hypolimnion). Currents in the upper lake will induce a counter current which is of
a lesser magnitude in the bottom lake.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

At this depth, the current direction will be towards the opposite side of the lake ie,
windward side from leeward to wind ward, sinks at this end and returns as the
counter current at this region of lake. Thus two distinct layers are seen at this time
in the lake. Between these two layers, temperature drops suddenly, upper layer in
contact with the warmer waters of upper lake which is mixing by warmer winds
and conduction. On the other hand, the lower layers of this region is in contact with
the layer which is yet to gain heat through conduction and other processes which
are themselves slow process. This separating zone between upper lake and bottom
of lake is called as Thermocline region. It is defined as a region wherein the
temperature drops by more than 1°C per meter of depth. The term of thermocline
was proposed by Birge (1897). Thus, epilimnion / upper lake are above
thermocline and bottom lake / hypolimnion is below region of thermocline.

During fall (autumn)

Cold wind blow over the lake surface which cools surface water which become
denser at -4°C. These denser waters sink through lighter warmer waters to a level
where it meets the waters of similar density ie. First it will be at thermocline. Thus
epilimnion gradually cools and on the other hand the hypolimnion will maintain
the same temperature. A stage will be reached when there will be no thermocline
region, water freely mixes. This mixing is called fall overturn. Mixing continuous
till the temperature throughout will be at 4°C.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

During winter

Cooling below 4°C will make water lighter and thus the surface waters are lighter
than the warmer but denser subsurface water. This water floats and no sinking,
cooling continuous at surface till ice is formed at 0°C. Once ice is formed at the
surface wind has no effect as far as mixing is concerned a period of stagnation sets
in.

During spring

With the onset of spring, warmer sun rays and wind melt the ice cover. Now
colder but lighter water will be above warmer but denser water below. Once it
attains a temperature of 4°C, it sinks down and reaches a level of 1°C which being
lighter ascends up and in turn warms up. Thus the layer of denser water increases
until the whole lake is uniformly of a same temperature. Mixing takes place now
by spring winds and this is called as spring overturn.

Light
One of the most obvious and familiar properties of water is its transparency. Light
influences freshwater ecosystems greatly. Fresh waters contain more of suspended
materials. These suspended materials obstruct the light that penetration reaches the
water. The degree of such obstruction of light influences the productivity of the
freshwater ecosystem. A shallow lake receives light to its very bottom resulting in
an abundant growth of vegetation both phytoplankton and rooted vascular plants.
Light affect the orientation and changes in position of attached species and their
nature of growth and it also causes the diurnal migration of planktonic organisms.

Following factors affecting the light penetration in natural waters are

 Intensity at the surface,

 Angle of contact of light with surface,
 Differences in latitude
 Seasonal differences
 Diurnal differences
 Suspended materials
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Compensation Point

The light intensity at which oxygen production by photosynthesis and oxygen

consumption by the respiration of the plants concerned are equal is known as the
compensation point.

Compensation Depth

The depth at which the compensation point occurs is called the compensation
depth.

Light exerts a great influence on many biological process of water. Most important
future of water is its transparency. This fluctuates in different seasons and water
bodies such as flooding livers, mountain streams etc.

The source of light on the earth

a) Sun b) Moon

Electromagnetic spectrum emitted by sun consists of short gama rays (0.0001 mm)
to long Hertizan waves (several km long). The Hertizan waves are the
electromagnetic waves used in radio and it is pronounced as Hertz.

Intensity of light is the number of quanta passing through on a unit area, ie, light
energy and the unit of expression of light intensity is ‘Lux’

Intense radiation is restricted to 300 to 1300 nm. Peak radiation distribution is in

the blue green range. Wave length heating water is 0.1 to 770 nm (infra red
spectrum). In a year the amount of radiant energy that reaches earth from the sun is
1.3x1021 k cal. Visible wave length/light : 400 to 770 nm; Ultraviolet light >286 to
400 nm.

Light penetration in natural waters is affected by

a) Dissolved substances

b) Suspended substances

c) Planktonic organisms
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

d) Geographical features (latitude and longitude etc)

e) Meteorological conditions

f) Angle of light etc.

Methods for estimation

a) Secchi’s disc

Secchi (1865), an Italian professor employed a metallic disc for measuring the
transparency of waters of Mediterranean sea. It considered in lowering into the
water a white metallic disc of 20 cm in diameter, on a graduated rope, noting /
recording the depth at which the disc disappeared then lifting the disc and noting
the depth at which it reappeared. The average of these two readings was considered
the limit of viability or Secchi disc depth. This method was used subsequently by
many investigators. Whipple modified this method by dividing the disc into four
quadrants and paintings them in such a way that two of the quadrants which were
directly opposite to each other, black and intervening ones white. He also increased
the efficiency of the method by viewing the disc, as it sank in the water through a
water telescope held under the sun shade. This method is not actual measure of
light penetration, but instead merely a useful rough index of visibility when used
under standard conditions. They are (a) Clear sky (b) Sun above the head
(preferably) (c) Shaded or protected side of the boat (d)) Under a sun shade. This
method has come into a wide use as a means of comparing different waters.

b) Geneva Commission Method:

In 1883, the Physical Society of Geneva Switzerland, established a committee for

the study of transparency in Lake Geneva. This committee made use of a method
the essential feature of which is the substitution of an incandescent lamp for the
white disk of Secchi. The point of disappearance of the bright spot (the lamp) was
designated as the limit of clear vision, while the subsequent disappearance at a
lower level of the last vestige of the surrounding glow of diffused light was
specified as the limit of diffused light. This method has the same limitations as that
of Secchi’s disk, and it has had a very restricted use.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Factors influencing the light penetration

1) Intensity of light at surface

The intensity of illumination at the surface of water varies with a number of

circumstances, such as degree of cloudiness or clearness of sky, presence of fog,
smoke, dust, or other occasional features of atmospheric condition, time of day,
and season of the year. Some of these variations are cyclic, such as the alternation
of day and night; others are irregular meteorological phenomena; and still others
originate in various ways. Moonlight is known to illuminate water to some extent;
also starlight in a much more limited way; but these sources of light are likewise
subject to variations in intensity at the surface. Strictly speaking, light intensity at
the surface of natural waters is highly variable, and periods of uniform intensity are
of limited duration. It should be understood that on a clear day, the light reaching
the surface of the water is the sum total of the light coming (1) directly from the
sun and (2) from the hemisphere of the sky. Clouds passing across the sun produce
alterations in the relative amounts of light from the two sources.

This varies with (a) degree of clarity of sky (b) presence of fog, dust, smoke etc
and (c) time of the day/season of the year.

2) Angle of contact with surface

Light in contact with surface part of it is reflected rest enters water and becomes
refracted. Penetration depends on angle of contact and maximum penetration when
sun is at zenith.

3) Different in latitude

More remote the water mass is from equator, greater will be the departure of sun’s
rays from vertical and hence penetration varies.

4) Seasonal differences

Closely associated with latitude are the seasonal changes in the position of the sun.
Only locations at or between 23° 28i N and 23° 28i S (Tropic of cancer and Tropic
of Capricorn) ever have a vertical sum. Beyond this zone, north or south not only
do locations have on regular sun but the angle changes progressively with change
of seasons.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

5) Diurnal difference

Angle of light in contact with water is ever changing during day, reaches zenith at
noon.

6) Dissolved materials

One of the important factors is absorbance of light which varies with chemical
substances such as (a) chloride, Ca and Mg affect light penetration ie. Diminishes,
(b) Traces of NH3 proteins, nitrate, carbohydrates etc reduces the light penetration
with respect to ultraviolet rays.

7) Suspended materials

Silt, clay etc. are effectively screen light and also the penetrations of light reduce
by phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Penetration of light in pure water

When light penetrates or enters into pure water (a) certain portion of light is
absorbed and (b) some of it is scattered in the form of deflection in all directions.

Absorption is selective in which certain wave lengths are absorbed more quickly
than others.

Penetration of light in natural waters

Every quantitative determination records were only in marine waters probably

because of more clarity. Here photographic plate method used by Forel (1865) in
Lake Geneva at about 200 m.

Currents:
Currents in lakes are mainly of three kinds, viz., vertical, horizontal, and returning
(sometimes called undertow currents).

Vertical Currents True vertical currents seldom occur in inland lakes but may be
present in large waters such as the Great Lakes. When present in inland lakes, they
are the result of some unusual thermal, morphological, or hydrostatic circumstance.
Upwelling of water from some deep source is an example.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Horizontal Currents are common in lakes. They are usually produced by wind
and often modified by the shape of shore line and form of the basin. It is claimed
that in lakes as large as the Great Lakes, surface velocity is about 5 per cent of that
of the wind causing it but is less than 5 per cent in the smaller lakes. The velocity
of surface water in oceans at 45°N. lat. is said to be about 2 per cent that of the
wind producing it. Stromsten (1927) reported that in Lake Okoboji, Iowa, a wind
of 800 ft. per minute produced a current of 25 ft. per min.; also that after thermal
stratification was established, only the heaviest winds disturbed the water below 20
m. depth. The ratio of wind velocity to water movement diminishes as the wind
velocity increases. Also, water velocity diminishes with increase in depth. The data
presented in Table 2 probably indicate, in a general way, the expectation in the
smaller lakes.

Lakes with large inflow or large outflow, or both, have areas of flowage not due to
wind action. This is particularly true of those lakes which are expansions of a river
system through which surface water drifts as a result of the general current.

Returning currents are formed when water is piled up on an exposed shore as a

result of an onshore wind. Such action raises the water level at that position, and,
as a result, the excess water may return underneath along the bottom. The
magnitude and duration of such currents depend upon the velocity and duration of
the wind. Steady, vigorous, onshore winds may set up return currents which extend
to the opposite side of the lake. During the summer when a lake is thermally
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

stratified and the upper portion of the water (epilimnion) is approximately of the
same temperature and hence of the same density, a strong, steady wind of some
hours’ duration continually drifts the water upon the exposed shore whence,
barring special circumstances, the excess water may return down the slope of the
basin to a considerable depth. Encountering there the colder, denser water of the
thermocline region, this down flowing, returning current is diverted in a horizontal
direction and flows toward the opposite shore, maintaining a level above the
thermocline.

In such a circulation, the upper stratum of the epilimnion flows toward one shore;
the lower stratum (the return current) flows toward the opposite shore; and the
stratum between the two, which is known as the shearing plane (Fig. 4), is
practically without motion. Whipple (1927) found evidence, based upon the use of
floats adjusted to different levels that such a return current may also occur in part
beneath the thermocline.

If this is true, then the hypoliémnion (the region below the thermocline) is not so
completely devoid of circulation as is sometimes supposed. Other workers have
found evidences of subthermocline circulation, the nature of which is as yet little
understood. During the spring and fall overturns, when the water is of uniform
density from top to bottom, return currents may extend even to the bottom of
relatively deep inland lakes. Not all return currents are submerged. If wave fronts
meet the shore line obliquely, the water piled up on shore may seek to reestablish
the water level by flowing off laterally on the surface and along the shore line.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

Various forms of these along-- shore return currents, such as lateral whirls or
eddies, may result from the modifying circumstances of local shore and basin
characters.

DENSITY
Some of the most remarkable phenomena in limnology are dependent upon density
relations in water.

Variations Due to Pressure:

Water at the surface, subject to a pressure of only 1 atmosphere, is considered as
having a density of unity (1.0); at a pressure of 10 atmospheres, the density is
about 1.0005; at 20 atmospheres, the density is about 1.001; and at 30 atmospheres,
it is about 1.0015.

Variations Due to Temperature:

Pure water forms ice at 0°C., and steam at 100°C., but the main interest here is in
the changes of density of the liquid due to temperature. Water possesses that
unique quality of having its maximum density (Fig. 2) not just before it forms ice
but at 4°C, (39.2°F.). Strangely enough, it actually becomes progressively less
dense (lighter) as it cools from 4°C to the freezing point.
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

The performance of many, possibly most, inland waters parallels closely that of
pure water, as shown in Fig. 2. However, one departure should be mentioned, viz.,
it is a well-established fact that with increasing hydrostatic pressure the
temperature of maximum density in pure water becomes lower than 4°C although
the change is of small magnitude. It seems likely that this fact explains the
occurrence of temperatures slightly lower than 4°C at the bottom of very deep
inland lakes in summer (Wright, 1931; Eddy, 1943). In natural environments,
water is ordinarily least dense (lightest) at the maximum summer temperature. As
it cools down during autumn and early winter, it gradually increases in density
until 4°C is reached. Further cooling decreases density until the 0°C is reached.
According to Coker (1938), sea water becomes heavier as it cools until the freezing
point is reached, i.e., the temperature of maximum density is at O°C instead of 4°C
as in pure water.

Changes Due to Dissolved Substances:

All natural waters contain substances in solution. The concentrations of these
substances vary widely, although, as a rule, the total amount in fresh water is less
than that in sea water. Such substances usually increase the density of water, the
amount of increase depending upon the concentration of dissolved materials and
upon their specific gravity. A marked influence of this sort occurs in salt lakes in
which the density may exceed that of the oceans. Evaporation increases density by
concentrating the dissolved materials; dilution reduces the density.

Changes Due to Substances in Suspension:

All waters, as they occur in nature, contain some suspended particulate matter.
The quality and quantity of these substances vary greatly in different waters and at
different times. Silt and certain other materials are heavier than water and thus
increase its weight; others may have a specific gravity similar to that of water and
cause no significant change in its weight. Density currents and related phenomena
may be caused by substances in suspension.

Turbidity
Degree of opaqueness developed in water by means of suspended water is known
as turbidity.Turbidity is a condition of water resulting from the presence of
suspended matters. In common parlance, water is turbid only when its load of
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

suspended matter is conspicuous, but, as a matter of fact, all natural waters contain
suspended materials, and therefore all are turbid, although they vary widely in the
amount. The clearest of mountain lakes have a very low turbidity, while the
Missouri River represents the opposite extreme. The timeworn statement that
“there is not enough silt in the world to make the oceans turbid”’ is mere fiction,
since the oceans are already turbid.

The sources of substances producing turbidity are innumerable. Any materials,

finely divided or later becoming so, which find their way into waters contribute to
turbidity, and the great array of materials which may get into a lake and the variety
of ways of delivering such materials to a lake are such as almost to defy complete
enumeration. Prominent among these materials are plankton organisms, finely
divided substances of organic origin, and silts.

From the point of view of their relation to water, turbidity-producing substances

may be divided into two groups, viz., the settling suspended matters and the non
settling suspended matters.

Settling Suspended Matters:

Those substances which in motionless water will sooner or later settle to the
bottom are known as the settling suspended matters. Certain materials settle very
slowly; others settle with considerable promptness. Rate of settling is determined
largely by the specific gravity of the particle, by the size of the particle, by the ratio
of surface to volume of the particle (shape), and by the viscosity of the water. Long
ago, Stokes constructed the following formula to express the velocity of fall of a
spherical body through a liquid:
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

While certain modifications of this law have been proposed for use in
physiological work, it expresses, in its original form, the essential factors involved
and their general relations. Owing to the fact that Stokes’s law as stated involves
several fundamental assumptions, its use in determining the rate of settling of
particles in lake waters is dependable only as the existing conditions approach the
fundamental ones inherent in the formula. To express the sinking velocity of
plankton organisms, Ostwald (1902) proposed the following simplified formula:

It must not be overlooked that the settling of particulate materials is by no means at

a uniform rate, particularly in a deeper lake having considerable difference in
temperature (and hence differences in viscosity) between the surface and bottom
layers.

Kindle also pointed out that there are three general effects of the summer thermal
stratification on the finely divided settling matters:

(1) Delayed settling of fine, suspended matter in the epilimnion facilitates its
oxidation and largely controls the character of other biochemical changes in
the sediments which are dependent upon temperatures.

(2) Delayed settling promotes a sorting and a selecting of sediments, since the
various kinds of particles settle through a stratified liquid until they reach a
layer approximating their own specific gravity.

(3) In the alkaline epilimnion and the neutral or even acid hypolimnion, the
biochemical products and the resulting sediments differ accordingly.

The more or less constant wave action of the upper waters of a lake not only
tends to slow down settling of suspended materials but also, as pointed out
elsewhere, erodes and transports shore materials some of which are finely
divided and become, at least temporarily, suspended matter in the water.
Irregularities of turbidity thus arise from that continuously changing character
of surface-water disturbance of which there is every possible intergrade from
calm to violent storms. Irregularities also arise out of
Notes: Fundamentals of Limnology Muhammad Usman Oppal

1) Inflowing waters at one side of the basin.

2) Floods and droughts affecting inflowing waters.
3) Sudden contributions of wind-blown material.
4) Plankton swarms and plankton drift.
5) Differences in shore configuration; and other possible local circumstances.

Nonsettling Suspended Matters:

By nonsettling suspended matters are meant either those exceedingly finely
divided solids or those materials whose specific gravity is less than water which
are in permanent suspension as long as their state remains unchanged. Such
materials do not settle out on long standing in undisturbed water. True it is that
there are intergrades between the settling suspended matters and the nonsettling
matters and those certain of the former settle at an exceedingly slow rate. Also, it is
certain that some of the former undergo physical and chemical changes which may
convert them into the nonsettling state.

Furthermore, materials which will settle slowly in the upper waters may become
nonsettling in the deep, denser water; for example, in certain lakes, the bottommost
waters are exceedingly turbid owing largely to nonsettling materials. In a very
general way, these nonsettling materials may be divided into two classes:

1. Plankton organisms and coarsely divided, nonliving substance whose specific

gravity is such that they are constantly suspended. Certain of these materials are
so constituted that only strong centrifuging will pull them down. The plankton
Alga Gloeotrichia, so common in many lakes, is an excellent example.

2. Very finely divided, nonliving materials and organisms of exceedingly small

size, such as some of the very minute nannoplankton. There is reason for
believing that all natural waters contain a certain amount of nonsettling
suspended matter, the amounts varying in different waters and varying from
time to time in the same water; also, that these materials grade down in size of
particle to that of true colloids. Materials in colloidal suspension may undergo
flocculation, forming particles sufficiently large to sink eventually under the
influence of gravity.