Monomictic
Encyclopedia
Holomictic
Holomictic lakes are lakes, which, at some time during the year, have a uniform temperature and density from top to bottom, allowing the lake waters to completely mix. Holomictic lakes are non-meromictic lakes....
lakes that mix from top to bottom during one mixing period each year. Monomictic lakes may be subdivided into Cold and Warm types.
Cold monomictic lakes
Cold monomictic lakes are lakes that are covered by ice throughout much of the year. During their brief "summer" the surface waters remain at, or below, 4°C. The ice prevents these lakes from mixing in winter. During summer these lakes lack significant thermal stratification, and they mix thoroughly from top to bottom. These lakes are typical of cold climate regions (e.g., much of the arctic).Warm monomictic lakes
Warm monomictic lakes are lakes that never freeze, and are thermally stratified throughout much of the year. The density difference between the warm surface waters (the epilimnionEpilimnion
The epilimnion is the top-most layer in a thermally stratified lake, occurring above the deeper hypolimnion. It is warmer and typically has a higher pH, but lower dissolved oxygen concentration than the hypolimnion....
) and the colder bottom waters (the hypolimnion
Hypolimnion
The hypolimnion is the dense, bottom layer of water in a thermally-stratified lake. It is the layer that lies below the thermocline.Typically the hypolimnion is the coldest layer of a lake in summer, and the warmest layer during winter...
) prevents these lakes from mixing in summer. During winter the surface waters cool to a temperature equal to the bottom waters. Lacking significant thermal stratification, these lakes mix thoroughly each winter from top to bottom. These lakes are widely distributed from temperate to tropical climatic regions. One example is South Australia's Blue Lake
Blue Lake (South Australia)
The Blue Lake in Mount Gambier, South Australia is a large monomictic lake located in an extinct volcanic maar associated with the Mount Gambier maar complex. It is one of four crater lakes on Mount Gambier...
, where the change in circulation is signaled by a striking change in colour.
Examples of monomictic lakes
- Blue Lake (South Australia)Blue Lake (South Australia)The Blue Lake in Mount Gambier, South Australia is a large monomictic lake located in an extinct volcanic maar associated with the Mount Gambier maar complex. It is one of four crater lakes on Mount Gambier...
- Dal LakeDal LakeDal Lake is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The urban lake, which is the second largest in the state, is integral to tourism and recreation in Kashmir and is nicknamed the "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir" or "Srinagar's Jewel"...
- Sea of GalileeSea of GalileeThe Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
- Hartbeespoort DamHartbeespoort DamHartbeespoort Dam also known as Harties is a dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa . It lies in a valley to the south of the Magaliesberg mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 kilometres west of Pretoria...
- Issyk KulIssyk KulIssyk Kul is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the tenth largest lake in the world by volume and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes; hence its name, which means "hot...
- Lake KasumigauraLake Kasumigaurais the second-largest lake in Japan, located 60 km to the north-east of Tōkyō. Lake Kasumigaura is actually the name given to a group of contiguous lakes, which includes the main lake, Nishiura , and two smaller lakes, Kitaura is the second-largest lake in Japan, located 60 km to the...
- Manasbal LakeManasbal LakeManasbal Lake is located in the Jhelum valley, north of Srinagar city in the State of Jammu and Kashmir in India. The name Manasbal is said to be a derivative of the Lake Manasarovar...
- Mono LakeMono LakeMono Lake is a large, shallow saline lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in a basin that has no outlet to the ocean...
- prior to 1941 water diversions - Okanagan LakeOkanagan LakeOkanagan Lake is a large, deep lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The lake is 135 km long, between 4 and 5 km wide, and has a surface area of 351 km². The lake's maximum depth is 232 meters near Grant Island...
- Roodeplaat DamRoodeplaat DamRoodeplaat Dam is a concrete arch dam situated on the Pienaars River , a tributary of the Crocodile River, which flows northwards into the Limpopo River...
- Lake SélinguéLake SélinguéLake Sélingué is a 409 km² artificial lake in Mali's Koulikoro Region, formed by the Sélingué Hydroelectric dam on the Sankarani River. Its southwestern arm forms part of the border with Guinea. Lake Sélingué, rising and falling in the rainy and dry seasons, allows agriculture on the irrigated...
- Lake TiticacaLake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
- Lake TurkanaLake TurkanaLake Turkana , formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake...