LECTURE NOTES ON THERMAL STRATIFICATION

STRATIFICATION
Water stratification is when masses with different properties – salinity, oxygenation, density,
temperature – form layers that act as barriers to water mixing which could lead to anoxia or
euxinia. These layers are normally arranged according to density, with the least dense water
masses sitting above the denser layers.
Water stratification also creates barriers to nutrient mixing between layers. This can affect the
primary production in an area by limiting photosynthesis process. Stratification may be upset
by turbulence. This creates mixed layers of water. Forms of turbulence may include wind-sea
surface friction, upwelling and downwelling.
Temperature affects the rates of chemical and biological activities in water. This in turn
affects the water quality. Warm temperatures increase the growth of algae, plants and
animals; accelerate the decay of organic matter especially near the bottom of water. In the
temperate region, there are four distinct seasons. Rising temperatures in spring warm the
upper layers of the water. Warm water is lighter than cold water and the warm water floats
over the cold and denser water. Temperature and density differences create distinct layers of
water in the lake which do not mix easily. Warmer temperatures tend to increase the density
differences and cause a separation between the water layers. This process is called thermal
stratification.
Fall turnover describes the mixing of the upper layers and lower layers of water in the cold
season when the temperature and density differences between layers disappear. Shallow lakes
mix readily and have greater potential to release nutrients from the lake bottoms which fuel
algal blooms. The warm water fishponds average about 2 meters in depth. Marked thermal
stratification may develop in very shallow ponds because of turbid conditions resulting in
rapid heating of surface waters on calm sunny days. Stratification is less stable in ponds than
large bodies of water. Ponds which stratify during daylight hours can de-stratify at night
when the upper layers of water cool by conduction. Strong winds may supply enough energy
to cause complete circulation of water. Disappearance of a heavy plankton bloom may allow
heating to agreeable depth and lead to complete mixture. Temperatures of the epilimnion in
turbid waters are greater than those of clear waters because of greater absorption of heat by
particulate matter.
The surface water of deep tropical lakes never reaches the temperature of maximum density;
there is no process that makes the water mix. Bottom layers are depleted of oxygen but can be
saturated with carbon dioxide, or other gases such as sulfur dioxide. Earthquakes or landslide
can cause mixing which upturns the deep layers and may release a vast cloud of toxic gases.
This is called a limnic eruption e.g.1986 disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon. Thermal
stratification may cause fish kills due to thermal gradients, stagnation, and ice cover. Excess
growth of plankton limits commercial and recreational activities in lakes and reduces
drinking water quality. Thermal stratification can be reduced by aeration.
Thermal stratification is a process where warmer temperatures tend to increase the density
differences and cause a separation between layers.
There are three different types of thermal stratification and they are:
 i. EPILIMNION: This is the upper layer of water that receives more sunlight and
most biological activities and growth occur here. It is the shallowest layer is the
warm surface layer. The epilimnion is the layer of water that interacts with the
wind and sunlight, so it becomes the warmest and contains the most dissolved
oxygen. It is characterized by a temperature gradient of less than 1oc per metre of
depth. Though dissolved oxygen doesn’t play a direct role in lake stratification
and turnover, it is important for all the aquatic organisms in a lake that require
oxygen to survive.

ii. METALIMNION: The narrow band between the upper and lower waters also
called the Thermocline. This is where the temperature changes quickly with depth.
The middle layer is the transition zone of water between the warm epilimnion and
cold hypolimnion. The metalimnion is a place where the shallowest of the cool
waters in the hypolimnion gradually warm up until they mix into the epilimnion.
The point of greatest temperature difference (and therefore density difference) is
called the thermocline and occurs within the metalimnion.
iii. HYPOLIMNION: The colder, denser, and darker bottom water is called the This
is where dead plants and animals sink. The deepest layer is the cold, dense water
at the lake bottom. The hypolimnion often remains around 4°C throughout the
year, rarely gets any direct warmth from the sun and is isolated from the air at the
surface of the lake. The hypolimnion contains the lowest amount of dissolved
oxygen and can often become anoxic (zero dissolved oxygen) while the lake is
thermally stratified.

Thermal Stratification of Lakes refers to a change in the temperature at different depths in

the lake, and it is due to the change in water’s density with temperature. Cold water is
denser than warm water and the epilimnion generally consists of water that is not as dense
as the water in the hypolimnion.

DESTRATIFICATION
Is a process in which the air or water is mixed to eliminate stratified layers of temperature,
plant life or animal life.
In temperate latitudes, many lakes that become stratified during the summer months de-
stratify during cooler windier weather with surface mixing by wind being a significant driver
in this process. This is often referred to as "autumn turn-over". The mixing of the
hypolimnium into the mixed water body of the lake recirculates nutrients, particularly
phosphorus compounds, trapped in the hypolimnion during the warm weather. It also poses a
risk of oxygen sag as a long established hypolimnion can be anoxic or very low in oxygen.
Lake mixing regimes can shift in response to increasing air temperatures. Some dimictic
lakes can turn into monomictic lakes, while some monomictic lakes might become
meromictic, as a consequence of rising temperatures.
Many types of aeration equipment have been used to thermally de-stratify lakes, particularly
lakes subject to low oxygen or undesirable algal blooms. In fact, natural resource and
environmental managers are often challenged by problems caused by lake and pond thermal
stratification. Fish die-offs have been directly associated with thermal gradients, stagnation,
and ice cover. Excessive growth of plankton may limit the recreational use of lakes and the
commercial use of lake water. With severe thermal stratification in a lake, the quality of
drinking water also can be adversely affected. For fisheries managers, the spatial distribution
of fish within a lake is often adversely affected by thermal stratification and in some cases
may indirectly cause large die-offs of recreationally important fish. One commonly used tool
to reduce the severity of these lake management problems is to eliminate or lessen thermal
stratification through water aeration. Aeration has met with some success, although it has
rarely proved to be a panacea.

How and Why Lakes Stratify and Turn Over:

Have you ever been swimming and experienced a sudden drop in temperature in the water
near your feet, while the surface water remains a comfortable temperature?

What you are experiencing is thermal stratification—when lakes “divide” into different
layers of density due to differing temperatures.

When spring turns to summer, most Canadian lakes, including those at IISD Experimental
Lakes Area, experience both thermal stratification and lake turnover. These phenomena are
very important for many aquatic organisms and allow for lake ecosystems to thrive.

Before getting into the details of thermal stratification and lake turnover, there are two things
we need to remember:

 Water density depends on its temperature. The warmer the water, the less
dense it becomes. Water is at its densest closest to 4°C.
 Liquids of different densities often do not mix easily. The greater the
difference in density, the harder it is to get the liquids to mix. Think about
oil and vinegar in a salad dressing. This resistance to mixing also occurs
in water of different temperatures.

Spring to Summer: Lakes begin to stratify due to differences in temperature

Thermal stratification occurs when the water in a lake forms distinct layers through heating
from the sun. When the ice has melted in the spring, solar radiation warms the water at the
surface of the lake much faster than in deeper waters. In fact, sunlight often only penetrates a
few metres into the lake, directly warming just the top few metres. As the water warms, it
becomes less dense and remains at the surface, floating in a layer above the cooler, denser
water below.
Lakes stratify thanks to the heat of the sun and the movement of the wind.

Throughout the summer, wind and waves cause the warming water in the epilimnion to mix
deeper and deeper, slowly incorporating hypolimnetic water through the metalimnion. The
ability of a lake to mix through wind turbulence is determined by the “stability” of thermal
stratification. Stratification becomes increasingly stable with heating from the sun. The larger
the difference in temperature (and density) between the epilimnion and the hypolimnion, the
more stable the thermal stratification.

Eventually, the epilimnion warms to the point where the difference in density between the
epilimnion and hypolimnion (at the thermocline) is so large that wind and waves can no
longer generate enough energy to incorporate hypolimnetic water.

As the summer turns to fall, the surface waters cool and sink, mixing the epilimnion down
towards the hypolimnion and weakening the thermocline; as the temperatures and densities of
the epilimnion and hypolimnion become more similar, the water currents and wind can once
again mix water between the two layers.

Eventually, the epilimnion cools until the entire lake is the same temperature (isothermal).
This allows lake turnover to occur.

LAKE TURNOVER

Lake turnover is a phenomenon whereby the entire volume of water in a lake is mixed by
wind. This can only happen when the entire lake is the same temperature and density. Lake
turnover is extremely important in freshwater lakes, as it is the event that is responsible for
replenishing dissolved oxygen levels in the deepest lake waters. When the lakes are a uniform
temperature and density, it takes relatively little wind energy to mix water deep into the lake.
Wind moves highly oxygenated surface water to the lake bottom, forcing low oxygen water
from the lake bottom up to the surface where it becomes saturated with oxygen. This is
critical for aquatic organisms, as once the lakes freeze over for the winter, no new oxygen
gets mixed into the lake from the atmosphere, and what is in the lake must last until ice goes
off in the spring.

Lakes turn over in the fall when the water throughout the lake reaches a uniform
temperature.
Spring turnover is important for the same reason. Once thermal stratification sets up,
hypolimnetic waters do not get mixed to the surface and whatever dissolved oxygen exists in
the deepest parts of the lake is all that is available until lake turnover in the fall.

TYPES OF LAKES

Six common lake types are:

 Amictic: covered in ice all year. This mixing pattern is typical of lakes in
the Antarctic.
 Cold monomictic: water never gets warmer than 4°C and turnover occurs
once in summer. Lakes in the Arctic are often cold monomictic.
 Dimictic: lakes are stratified in summer and winter, and mix once in
spring and once in fall.
 Warm monomictic: water cools to near 4°C in winter when turnover may
occur. Lakes are stratified during other times of the year and are not ice
covered. Lakes in the tropics or low altitudes in northern temperate areas
can be warm monomictic.
 Oligomictic: water generally warm and stratified, occasionally cools to
generate circulation at irregular intervals. This mixing type can occur in
lower latitude regions where there is little variation in annual temperature.
 Polymictic: frequent mixing throughout the year. This type of mixing can
occur in lakes across the world and depends on characteristics like depth,
size, and shape of a lake.

These are generalizations based on circulation patterns, and lakes can fall into many different
classifications and classification systems. Many lakes can have periods of stratification,
depending on lake depth. Shallow lakes may stratify following lake turnover and then mix
completely for much of the year if sunlight penetrates to the lake bottom or there is enough
wind energy to move water through the entire water column.
So when you are next swimming in a freshwater lake, impress all your friends by dipping
your toes from the epilimnion, through the metalimnion and into the depths of the
hypolimnion!

FACTORS AFFECTING LAKE MIXING, TRANPORT AND EXCHANGE OF

SUBSTANCES

1. Wind: is the dominant external energy input responsible for mixing of water. Wind
generates local currents that break lake boundaries and induce basin-scale motions.
Wave breaking is an important mixing mechanism and enhances gas exchange with
the atmosphere. Strong wind induces Langmuir circulations which are large-scale
counter-rotating helical vortices. Langmuir circulation is responsible for mixing of the
surface layer and deepening of the epilimnion. Processes that increase turbulence also
decrease residence time and increase interaction with bottom water, reduce
stratification and enhance mixing.
2. Radiation: Two major types of radiation play a role in lake and reservoir stratification.
These are short-wave ultraviolet and long-wave infrared radiations. The sun produces
the short-wave radiation some of which is reflected at the water surface. The
remaining radiation penetrates the lake and is absorbed in the water column then gets
converted to heat. Different wavelengths of the radiation are absorbed at different
depths of water. Blue light travels the farthest and heats the deepest layers of water. It
can travel full circle and escape from the lake, giving the lake a blue colour. Long-
wave radiation originates from black-body radiation. The lake (water bodies) and the
atmosphere emit black-body radiation. Long-wave atmospheric radiation is partially
reflected at the lake surface, and the penetrating radiation is absorbed, causing
heating. Black-body radiation results in a loss of thermal energy and cooling of the
lake water.
3. Evaporation and condensation: Evaporation is the conversion of liquid water to water
vapor while condensation is the conversion of water vapor to liquid water. Both
evaporation and condensation are accompanied by fluxes of heat. Evaporation from
the lake surface extracts heat from the lake and results in cooling of the water surface.
Condensation extracts heat from the atmosphere and adds it to the water surface,
resulting in heating at the water surface. Evaporation and condensation are also
accompanied by a flux of water and affect the total water budget of the lake.
4. Direct Inflows and outflows: Direct inflows to lakes and reservoirs can include
surface inflow from rivers and streams, groundwater inflow, and precipitation.
Outflows from the lake can be either surface or groundwater outflow. Each of these
flows is accompanied by a flux of heat which may also add or remove kinetic energy.
Among the inflows and outflows, surface flows have the greatest potential for kinetic
energy input to a lake.