Heating and Cooling of a Shallow Bay in Eau Galle Reservoir: Field Measurements and Interpretation

Abstract

Water quality concerns associated with the distribution of nutrients in lakes and reservoirs make information on naturally occurring processes, which affect water movement, of significant value. These processes can be driven by wind, rain, solar radiation, surface cooling, photosynthetic activity, ground water intrusion and Coriolis forces. This study focuses on the diurnal effects of radiative heating and convective surface cooling as the driving forces of change in the water temperature profiles. It has been shown that the horizontal temperature gradients caused by the heating and cooling of littoral waters, and the density differences associated with these temperature gradients, cause horizontal and vertical exchange of water within the littoral and adjacent profundal regions (Stefan, Horsch and Barko, 1989).