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Mixing Is the Heartbeat of Deep Lakes. At Crater Lake, It's Slowing Down

67 points by pseudolus

by samirillian

0 subcomment

Common problem in man-made lakes. When you create a lake by damming a river it creates perfect conditions for lamination, deep narrow and filled with agricultural runoff. When they pull the plug on these dams all the de-oxygenated water flows out the bottom, basically just dumping unbreathable water into the river killing off the more sensitive fish, eg trout die catfish live, and smelling like a million firecrackers.

by ravedave5

3 subcomments

There weren't even fish in the lake until 1888, it's likely this has occurred more than once in the past.

by bearsandsalmon

0 subcomment

Some more ideas that might work:
- Explosives. Drop large explosives deep into the lake periodically. It may kill a lot of life, but if you need to stir up organic matter at the bottom, it’s more efficient than attempting to stir it.
- Migrate life from similar depths at other lakes. If it’s going to die if you don’t, maybe it’s worth the effort.
- Drill. Just drill a deep hole until you get to a water source or heat.

by joek1301

1 subcomments

I know they aren't the point of the article, but the photos are absolutely breathtaking.

by libpcap

3 subcomments

by acyou

2 subcomments

Algal blooms with limited mixing sounds like a pretty good carbon capture mechanism!
I wonder if there is oil and gas at the bottom of any of these deep lakes? /s
It would be interesting to know the gas balances for these lakes, in particular how reduced mixing affects methanotrophy and methanogenesis. If its talking about climate change, this article really should discuss methane, I think that's a bigger deal.