Abstract
Lakes turn meromictic, when mixing and deep recirculation are insufficient to homogenize the water body and remove chemical gradients. A deepwater layer “the monimolimnion ” is excluded from the deep recirculation and hence develops a pronounced different chemical milieu. It persists through all seasons due to its high density. A limited number of processes are known to accomplish such a density increase of the deep water to create meromixis , such as salty inflows and partial deepwater renewal . However, also geochemical processes, such as decomposition of organic material, iron oxidation, and redissolution and calcite precipitation, can be responsible for meromixis. Other than the overlying water layer “the mixolimnion, ” the monimolimnion does not get into direct contact with the atmosphere and hence is not directly supplied with oxygen. Other substances can be enriched by precipitation and flocculation from the mixolimnion until the solubility product is reached or gas pressure grows beyond absolute pressure. As a consequence, the composition of solutes deviates clearly from usual water composition, and quantitative approaches for density must implement appropriate numerical approaches. The permanent density stratification limits the vertical transport of water and solutes. In several lakes, double-diffusive convection has been reported to significantly enhance the vertical solute transport.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Aeschbach-Hertig W, Hofer M, Kipfer R, Imboden DM, Wieler R (1999) Accumulation of mantle gases in a permanently stratified volcanic lake (Lac Pavin, France). Geochim Cosmochim Acta 63:3357–3372
Boehrer B (2012) Double-diffusive convection in lakes. In: Bentsson L, Herschy RW, Fairbridge RW (eds) Encyclopedia of lakes and reservoirs. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 223–224
Boehrer B (2013) Physical properties of acidic pit lakes. In: Geller W, Schultze M, Kleinmann R, Wolkersdorfer C (eds) Acidic pit lakes. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 23–42
Boehrer B, Schultze M (2008) Stratification of lakes. Rev Geophys 46:RG2005. doi:10.1029/2006RG000210
Boehrer B, Matzinger A, Schimmele M (2000) Similarities and differences in the annual temperature cycles of East German mining lakes. Limnologica 30:271–279
Boehrer B, Fukuyama R, Chikita K (2008) Stratification of very deep, thermally stratified lakes. Geophys Res Lett 35:L16405. doi:10.1029/2008GL034519
Boehrer B, Dietz S, von Rohden C, Kiwel U, Jöhnk KD, Naujoks S, Ilmberger J, Lessmann D (2009) Double-diffusive deep water circulation in an iron-meromictic lake. Geochem Geophys Geosyst 10:Q06006. doi:10.1029/2009GC002389
Boehrer B, Herzsprung P, Schultze M, Millero FJ (2010) Calculating density of water in geochemical lake stratification models. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 8:567–574. doi:10.4319/lom.2010.8.567
Boehrer B, Kiwel U, Rahn K, Schultze M (2014) Chemocline erosion and its conservation by freshwater introduction to meromictic salt lakes. Limnologica 44:81–89
Boehrer B, Yusta I, Magin K, Sanchez-España J (2016) Quantifying, assessing and removing the extreme gas load from meromictic Guadiana pit lake, Southwest Spain. Sci Total Environ 563–564:468–477
Böhrer B, Heidenreich H, Schimmele M, Schultze M (1998) Numerical prognosis for salinity profiles of future lakes in the open cast mine Merseburg-Ost. Int J Salt Lake Res 7:235–260
Bøyum A (1973) Salsvatn, a lake with old sea water. Schweiz Zeitschr Hydrol 35:262–277
Bøyum A, Kjensmo J (1970) Kongressvatn. A crenogenic meromictic lake at Western Spitsbergen. Arch Hydrobiol 67:542–552
Bozkurt I, Mantar S, Karakilcik M (2015) A new performance model to determine energy storage efficiencies of a solar pond. Heat Mass Transf 51:39–48
Brandt A, Fernando HJS (eds) (1996) Double diffusive convection. Geophys Monogr Ser, vol 94. AGU, Washington, DC, p 334
Campbell P, Torgersen T (1980) Maintenance of iron meromixis by iron redeposition in a rapidly flushed monimolimnion. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 37:1303–1313
Carmack EC, Weiss RF (1991) Convection in Lake Baikal: an example of thermobaric instability. In: Chu PC, Gascard, JC (eds) Deep convection and deep water formation in the Oceans. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 215–228,
Casamitjana X, Roget E (1993) Resuspension of sediment by focused groundwater in Lake Banyoles. Limnol Oceanogr 38:643–656
Chen C-TA, Millero FJ (1986) Precise thermodynamic properties for natural waters covering only the limnological range. Limnol Oceanogr 31:657–662
Crawford GB, Collier RW (2007) Longterm observations of hypolimnetic mixing in Crater Lake, Oregon. Hydrobiologia 574:47–68
Dietz S, Lessmann D, Boehrer B (2012) Contribution of solutes to density stratification in a meromictic lake (Waldsee/Germany). Mine Water Environ 31:129–137
Eloranta P (1999) Light penetration and thermal stratification in lakes. In: Keskitalo J, Eloranta P (eds) Limnology of humic waters. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp 72–74
Findenegg I (1933) Alpenseen ohne Vollzirkulation. Int Rev Gesamten Hydrobiol Hydrogr 28:295–311
Findenegg I (1935) Limnologische Untersuchungen im Kärntener Seengebiete. Ein Beitrag zu Kenntnis des Stoffhaushaltes in Alpenseen. Int Rev Gesamten Hydrobiol Hydrogr 32:369–423
Findenegg I (1937) Holomiktische und meromiktische Seen. Int Rev Gesamten Hydrobiol Hydrogr 35:586–610
Fisher TSR (2002) Limnology of the meromictic Island Copper Mine pit lake. Dissertation, University of British Columbia
Fisher TSR, Lawrence GA (2006) Treatment of acid rock drainage in a meromictic pit lake. J Environ Eng 132:515–526
Fofonoff NP, Millard RC Jr (1983) Algorithms for commutation of fundamental properties of seawater. UNESCO Tech Pap Mar Sci 44
Frey DG (1955) Längsee: a history of meromixis. Mem Ist Ital Idrobiol Suppl 8:141–164
Gibson JAE (1999) The meromictic lakes and stratified marine basins of the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. Antarct Sci 11:175–192
Goudsmit G-H, Peeters F, Gloor M, Wüest A (1997) Boundary versus internal diapycnal mixing in stratified natural waters. J Geophys Res 102(C13):27903–27914
Gräfe H, Boehrer B, Hoppe N, Müller SC, Hauptmann P (2002) Ultrasonic in situ measurements of density, adiabatic compressibility, and stability frequency. Limnol Oceanogr 47:1255–1260
Halbwachs M, Sabroux J-C, Grangeon J, Kayser G, Tochon-Danguy J-C, Felix A, Beard J-C, Villevielle A, Voter G, Richon P, Wuest A, Hell J (2004) Degassing the “Killer Lakes” Nyos and Monoun, Cameroon. Eos Trans AGU 85:281–285
Hammer UT (1986) Saline lake ecosystems of the world. Dr W Junk Publishers, Dordrecht
Hammer UT (1994) Life and times of five Saskatchewan saline meromictic lakes. Int Rev Gesamten Hydrobiol 79:235–248
Hammer UT, Haynes RC (1978) The saline lakes of Saskatche-wan. II. Locale, hydrography and other physical aspects. Int Rev Gesamten Hydrobiol 63:179–203
Heidenreich H, Boehrer B, Kater R, Hennig G (1999) Gekoppelte Modellierung geohydraulischer und limnophysikalischer Vorgänge in Tagebaurestseen und ihrer Umgebung. Grundwasser 4:49–54
Hongve D (1997) Cycling of iron, manganese, and phosphate in a meromictic lake. Limnol Oceanogr 42:635–647
Hongve D (2002) Seasonal mixing and genesis of endogenic meromixis in small lakes in Southeast Norway. Nord Hydrol 33:189–206
Hutchinson GE (1937) A contribution to the limnology of arid regions: primarily founded on observations made in the Lahontan basin. Trans Connecticut Acad Arts Sci 33:47–132
Hutchinson GE (1957) A treatise on limnology, Geography, physics and chemistry, vol 1. Wiley, New York
Imboden DM, Wüest A (1995) Mixing mechanisms in lakes. In: Lerman A, Imboden DM, Gat JR (eds) Physics and chemistry of lakes. Springer, Berlin, pp 83–138
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (1985) Water quality: determination of electrical conductivity, Standard 7888. ISO, Geneva
Jellison R, Melack JM (1993) Meromixis in hypersaline Mono Lake, California. 1. Vertical mixing and density stratification during the onset, persistence, and breakdown of meromixis. Limnol Oceanogr 38:1008–1019
Jellison R, Romero J, Melack JM (1998) The onset of meromixis during restoration of Mono Lake, California: unintended consequences of reducing water diversions. Limnol Oceanogr 43:706–711
Jellison R, MacIntyre S, Millero FJ (1999) Density and conductivity properties of NA-CO3-Cl-SO4 brine from Mono Lake, California, USA. Int J Salt Lake Res 8:41–53
Kaden H, Peeters F, Lorke A, Kipfer R, Tomonaga Y, Karabiyikoglu M (2010) Impact of lake level change on deep-water renewal and oxic conditions in deep saline Lake Van, Turkey. Water Resour Res 46:W11508. doi:10.1029/2009WR008555
Kalff J (2002) Limnology, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
Karakas G, Brookland I, Boehrer B (2003) Physical characteristics of acidic Mining Lake 111. Aquat Sci 65:297–307
Kerry KR, Grace DR, Williams R, Burton HR (1977) Studies on some saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. In: Llano GAS (ed) Adaptations within antarctic ecosystems. Gulf, Houston, Texas, pp 839–858
Kirkland DW, Platt Bradbury J, Dean WE (1983) The heliothermic lake—a direct method of collecting and storing solar energy. Arch Hydrobiol Suppl 65:1–60
Kjensmo J (1967) The development and some main features of “ironmeromictic” soft water lakes. Arch Hydrobiol 32:137–312
Kjensmo J (1988) Post-glacial sediments and the stagnation history of the iron-meromictic Lake Skjennungen, Eastern Norway. Arch Hydrobiol 113:481–499
Kling GW (1988) Comparative transparency, depth of mixing and stability of stratification in lakes of Cameroon, West Africa. Limnol Oceanogr 33:27–40
Kling GW, Clark MA, Compton HR, Devine JD, Evans WC, Humphrey AM, Koenigsberg EJ, Lockwood JP, Tuttle ML, Wagner GN (1987) The 1986 Lake Nyos gas disaster in Cameroon, West Africa. Science 236:169–175
Kodenev GG (2001) Deep-water renewal in Lake Baikal. Geol Geofiz 42:1127–1136
Lerman A, Imboden DM, Gat JR (eds) (1995) Physics and chemistry of lakes. 2nd edn, Springer, Berlin
Lindholm T (1996) Periodic anoxia in an emerging coastal lake basin in SW Finland. Hydrobiologia 325:223–230
Ludlam SD, Duval B (2001) Natural and management induced reduction in monimolimnetic volume and stability in a coastal, meromictic lake. Lake Reserv Manag 17:71–81
Marion GM, Farren RE (1999) Mineral solubilities in the Na-K-Mg-Ca-Cl-SO4-H2O system: a re-evaluation of the sulfate chemistry in the Spencer-Møller-Weare model. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 63:1305–1318
McGinnis DF, Greinert J, Artemov Y, Beaubien SE, Wüest A (2006) Fate of rising methane bubbles in stratified waters: how much methane reaches the atmosphere? J Geophys Res 111:C09007. doi:10.1029/2005JC003183
Merilainen J (1970) On the limnology of the meromictic Lake Valkiajarvi, in the Finnish lake district. Ann Bot Fenn 7:29–51
Moreira S, Schultze M, Rahn K, Boehrer B (2016) A practical approach to lake water density from electrical conductivity and temperature. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci Discuss 20:2975–2986. doi:10.5194/hess-2016-36
Newman FC (1976) Temperature steps in Lake Kivu: a bottom heated saline lake. J Phys Oceanogr 6:157–163
Nissenbaum A (1969) Studies in the geochemistry of the Jordan River-Dead Sea system. Dissertation, University of California
Nixdorf E, Boehrer B (2015) Quantitative analysis of biogeochemically controlled density stratification in an iron-meromictic lake. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 19:4505–4515
Ozretich RJ (1975) Mechanisms for deep water renewal in Lake Nitinat, a permanently anoxic fjord. Estuar Coast Mar Sci 3:189–200
Peeters F, Kipfer R, Achermann D, Hofer M, Aeschbach-Hertig W, Beyerle U, Imboden DM, Rozanski K, Fröhlich K (2000) Analysis of deep-water exchange in the Caspian Sea based on environmental tracers. Deep-Sea Res I Oceanogr Res Pap 47:621–654
Peeters F, Finger D, Hofer M, Brennwald M, Livingstone DM, Kipfer R (2003) Deep-water renewal in Lake Issyk-Kul driven by differential cooling. Limnol Oceanogr 48:1419–1431
Rodrigo MA, Miracle MR, Vicente E (2001) The meromictic Lake La Cruz (Central Spain), patterns of stratification. Aquat Sci 63:406–416
Rouwet D, Christenson B, Tassi F, Vandemeulenbrouck J (eds) (2015) Volcanic Lakes. Springer, Heidelberg
Salonen K, Arvola L, Rask M (1984) Autumnal and vernal circulation of small forest lakes in Southern Finland. Verh Int Ver Limnol 22:103–107
Sánchez-España J, Boehrer B, Yusta I (2014) Extreme carbon dioxide concentrations in acidic pit lakes provoked by water/rock interaction. Environ Sci Technol 48:4273–4281
Sander R (1999) Compilation of Henry’s law constants for inorganic and organic species of potential importance in environmental chemistry. http://www.mpch-mainz.mpg.de/~sander/res/henry.html. Accessed 15 Jan 2016
Sanderson B, Perry K, Pedersen T (1986) Vertical diffusion in meromictic Powell Lake, British Columbia. J Geophys Res 91(C6):7647–7655
Santofimia E, López-Pamo E, Reyes J (2012) Changes in stratification and iron redox cycle of an acidic pit lake in relation with climatic factors and physical processes. J Geochem Explor 116–117:40–50
Scharf BW, Oehms M (1992) Physical and chemical characteristics. Arch Hydrobiol Beih 38:63–83
Schmid M, Lorke A, Dinkel C, Tanyileke G, Wüest A (2004a) Double-diffusive convection in Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Deep-Sea Res I 51:1097–1111
Schmid M, Tietze K, Halbwachs M, Lorke A, McGinnis D, Wüest A (2004b) How hazardous is the gas accumulation in Lake Kivu? arguments for a risk assessment in light of the Nyiragongo Volcano eruption of 2002. Acta Vulcanol 14(15):115–122
Sibert RJ, Koretsky CM, Wyman DA (2015) Cultural meromixis: effects of road salt on the chemical stratification of an urban kettle lake. Chem Geol 395:126–137
Stevens CL, Lawrence GA (1997) The effect of subaqueous disposal of tailings in standing waters. J Hydraul Res 35:147–159
Stottmeister U, Weißbrodt E, Becker PM, Pörschmann J, Kopinke FD, Martius GM, Wießner A, Kennedy C (1998) Analysis, behaviour and fate of a lignite pyrolysis wastewater deposit. In: Contaminated soil 98. Thomas Telford, London, pp 113–121
Strøm KM (1957) A lake with trapped sea-water? Nature 180:982–983
Strøm KM (1963) Trapped sea water. New Sci 274:384–386
Stumm W, Morgan JJ (1996) Aquatic chemistry, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York
TEOS-10: IOC, SCOR, and IAPSO (2010) The international thermodynamic equation of seawater–2010: calculation and use of thermodynamic properties. Comm Manuals Guide. http://www.TEOS-10.org. Accessed 15 Jan 2016
Tietze K, Geyh M, Müller H, Schröder L (1980) The genesis of methane in Lake Kivu. Geol Rundsch 69:452–472
Vollmer MK, Weiss RF, Bootsma HA (2002a) Ventilation of lake Malawi/Nyasa. In: Odada EO, Olago DO (eds) The East African great lakes: limnology, paleolimnology and biodiversity. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 209–233
Vollmer MK, Weiss RF, Williams RT, Falkner KK, Qiu X, Ralph EA, Romanovsky VV (2002b) Physical and chemical properties of the waters of saline lakes and their importance for deep-water renewal: lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 66:4235–4246
von Rohden C, Ilmberger J (2001) Tracer experiment with sulfurhexafluoride to quantify the vertical transport in a meromictic pit lake. Aquat Sci 63:417–431
von Rohden C, Ilmberger J, Boehrer B (2009) Assessing groundwater coupling and vertical exchange in a meromictic mining lake with an SF6-tracer experiment. J Hydrol 372:102–108
von Rohden C, Boehrer B, Ilmberger J (2010) Evidence for double diffusion in temperate meromictic lakes. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 14:667–674
Walker KF, Likens GE (1975) Meromixis and a reconsidered typology of lake circulation patterns. Verh Int Ver Limnol 19:442–458
Weinberger H (1964) The physics of the solar pond. Sol Energy 8:45–56
Weiss RF, Carmack EC, Koropalov VM (1991) Deepwater renewal and biological production in Lake Baikal. Nature 349:665–669
Wetzel RG (2001) Limnology: lake and river ecosystems, 3rd edn. Academic, San Diego
Williams PM, Mathews WH, Pckard GL (1961) A lake in British Columbia containing old sea water. Nature 191:830–832
Wüest A, Jarc L, Bürgmann H, Pasche N, Schmid M (2012) Methane formation and future extraction in Lake Kivu. In: Descy J-P, Darchambeau F, Schmid M (eds) Lake Kivu—limnology and biogeochemistry of a tropical great lake. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 165–180
Yoshimura S (1935) A contribution to the knowledge of deep water temperatures of Japanese lakes. Part 1. Summer temperature. Jpn J Astron Geophys 13:61–120
Yoshimura S (1936) Deep water temperatures of lakes of Japan in winter. Sea Air 15:195–208
Zachara JM, Moran JJ, Resch CT, Lindemann SR, Felmy AR, Bowden ME, Cory AB, Fredrickson JK (2016) Geo- and biogeochemical processes in a heliothermal hypersaline lake. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 181:144–163. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2016.02.001
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Boehrer, B., von Rohden, C., Schultze, M. (2017). Physical Features of Meromictic Lakes: Stratification and Circulation. In: Gulati, R., Zadereev, E., Degermendzhi, A. (eds) Ecology of Meromictic Lakes. Ecological Studies, vol 228. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49143-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49143-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49141-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49143-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)