>>>OK. I've taken the bait. What's a "lake turn" ? And why would a lake want to do that sort of thing ? regards, David It's part of the annual cycle of water in a large, mostly deep, lake. The word is "Turnover". As the weather warms and winds blow, the upper surface of a lake gets moved and heated. Sooner or later currents will set up in the upper layers from one side of the lake to another. This circulation tends to keep the accumulated heat and sediments, plankton, oxygen, etc. in that upper layer. The transition between the upper and lower layer is called the "Thermocline", a stratum where the temperature drops abruptly. Ever swim in a lake in nice warm temps then tread water and get your feet into something really cold? You just punched through the thermocline. The upper water cools as autumn/winter approaches, and at some point this thermocline barrier breaks down and the upper and lower layers mix; fairly abruptly and thoroughly. That's the Turnover. Check out a couple of texts on Limnology -- that's the science of water ecosystems. Much better descriptions than mine are available. Some general Ecology textbooks describe this as well. Joe P. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Jul 06 2002 - 09:30:33 PDT
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