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Lake stratification is the tendency of lakes to form separate and distinct thermal layers during warm weather. Typically stratified lakes show three distinct layers: the epilimnion, comprising the top warm layer; the thermocline (or metalimnion), the middle layer, whose depth may change throughout the day; and the colder hypolimnion, extending to the floor of the lake.
Stratification in water is the formation in a body of water of relatively distinct and stable layers by density. It occurs in all water bodies where there is stable density variation with depth. Stratification is a barrier to the vertical mixing of water, which affects the exchange of heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients. [1]
Lake stratification ... The epilimnion is the layer that is most affected by sunlight, its thermal energy heating the surface, thereby making it warmer and less dense.
Stratification occurs in all ocean basins and also in other water bodies. Stratified layers are a barrier to the mixing of water, which impacts the exchange of heat, carbon, oxygen and other nutrients. [1] The surface mixed layer is the uppermost layer in the ocean and is well mixed by mechanical (wind) and thermal (convection) effects.
There is a seasonal cycle of thermal stratification with two periods of mixing in spring and fall. Such lakes are termed "dimictic'. During summer there is a strong thermal stratification, while there is a weaker inverse stratification in winter.
Destratification is the reverse of the natural process of thermal stratification, which is the layering of differing (typically increasing) air temperatures from floor to ceiling. Stratification is caused by hot air rising up to the ceiling or roof space because it is lighter than the surrounding cooler air.
Thermal and density stratification is a critical factor influencing the composition of the water column. Composition often refers to the presence of or lack of nutrients and organisms. [ 5 ] In both cold and warm monomictic lakes, the epilimnion and hypolimnion are separated for a majority of the year.
Similar to light zonation, thermal stratification or thermal zonation is a way of grouping parts of the water body within an aquatic system based on the temperature of different lake layers. The less turbid the water, the more light is able to penetrate, and thus heat is conveyed deeper in the water. [ 17 ]