Open Collections

Factors affecting fall turnover in brackish lakes

University of British Columbia

This study investigates fall mixing in brackish lakes. Data from the Colomac Zone 2 Pit Lake is used to study the effects of salinity structure, and the ratio of runoff plus direct precipitation to evaporation (P*/E), on fall turnover. Zone 2 Pit Lake is currently not subject to turnover, but the model CE-QUAL-W2 is used to investigate conditions under which it, or other similar lakes, might turnover in fall. Accordingly, a curve is generated which separates meromictic and holomictic states for different combinations of salinity stratification and P*/E ratios given the bathymetry of Zone 2 Pit Lake, and the meteorological forcing it was subject to in 2010. It is shown that in brackish lakes, increases in the salinity of the surface layer due to evaporation can drive turnover.

Text

2014-08-18

Attribution 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/50047

Civil Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ca/