Variability in epilimnion depth estimations in lakes

Wilson, Harriet L.; Ayala, Ana I.; Jones, Ian D.; Rolston, Alec; Pierson, Don; de Eyto, Elvira; Grossart, Hans-Peter; Perga, Marie-Elodie; Woolway, R. Iestyn; Jennings, Eleanor

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5559-2020

Articles | Volume 24, issue 11

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5559-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5559-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 24, issue 11

Research article

|

24 Nov 2020

Research article |

| 24 Nov 2020

Variability in epilimnion depth estimations in lakes

Harriet L. Wilson, Ana I. Ayala, Ian D. Jones, Alec Rolston, Don Pierson, Elvira de Eyto, Hans-Peter Grossart, Marie-Elodie Perga, R. Iestyn Woolway, and Eleanor Jennings

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5559-2020-supplement

Data sets

Lough Feeagh water temperature profiles E. de Eyto, M. Dillane, T. Moore, H. Wilson, J. Cooney, P. Hughes, M. Murphy, P. Nixon, D. Sweeney, and R. Poole https://doi.org/10.20393/6C4760C2-7392-4347-8555-28BA0DAD0297

Variability in epilimnion depth estimations in lakes H. Wilson, A. I. Ayala, A. Rolston, D. Pierson, E. de Eyto, H. Grossart, M. Perga, I. Woolway, and E. Jennings https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/26dbc260405b4bb9b3ac16ec55432684/

Model code and software

Software GOTM https://gotm.net/portfolio/software/

Short summary

Lakes are often described in terms of vertical layers. The epilimnion refers to the warm surface layer that is homogeneous due to mixing. The depth of the epilimnion can influence air–water exchanges and the vertical distribution of biological variables. We compared various methods for defining the epilimnion layer and found large variability between methods. Certain methods may be better suited for applications such as multi-lake comparison and assessing the impact of climate change.