Mix It Up
Posted by Anne Danielski on March 29, 2006
Q: I have some experience with freshwater lakes and streams. Yet I was wondering if you had any idea of the minimum depth necessary for a lake to turnover?
A: I got out my college Limnology book and checked out lake turnover but no depths were given to describe this phenomenon. I was able to find out that the upper , warmer layer (Epilimnion) of circulating water is no more than about 20 feet (6 meters) so a lake would have to be at least 25 or more feet deep before you'd get much lake turnover. I think it stands to reason that the deeper a lake, the more dramatic the turnover when it does occur. Sorry not to give you more info but I hope this helps a bit.
John Wiessinger ( March 30, 2006)
Filed under: Ecology