How does lake water clarity affect lake thermal processes?

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of water clarity changes on thermal processes in Lake Poyang, the largest freshwater lake in China, using a physically based lake model embedded in the Community Land Model. A water extinction coefficient (Kd) describing water clarity and controlling radiation penetration in the lake model was used to conduct controlled simulations. Three sets of simulations were conducted for Lake Poyang over the period from 2000 to 2015: DEFAULT with the K-d = 0.45 m(-1); CTL with the Kd = 1.68 m(-1) based on a water clarity of 0.85 m; and DARK with the K-d = 1.68 m(-1) from 2000 to 2005 and Kd = 3.44 m(-1) based on a water clarity of 0.41 m observed from 2005 to 2015. The simulation results showed that compared with the DEFAULT simulation, the temperature simulations were closer to the observations using the more accurate K-d values for the CTL and DARK simulations. Due to decreased water clarity, radiation absorbed in the top 1 m of the water body was larger for the DARK simulation and lower at greater depths than that observed for the CTL simulation. Such changes in radiation penetration in the DARK simulation generated a higher lake water surface temperature (LWST) and thus stronger lake-air interactions from February to July and lower LWST and turbulent fluxes from August to the following January than in the CTL simulation. The temperature inside the lake water body declined markedly, with a significant reduction from June to August that exceeded 5 degrees C. The results of this study provide an additional reference regarding lake water clarity effects on inland freshwater systems and theoretical support for lake water system management.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of water clarity changes on thermal processes in Lake Poyang, China's largest freshwater lake, using a physically based lake model. The simulation results showed that changes in water clarity affected lake surface temperature and lake-air interactions. These findings provide theoretical support for understanding the impacts of water clarity on inland freshwater systems and lake water system management.