LEXPLORE PLATFORM

LéXPLORE Letters No. 39

This newsletter was generated on the 13-02-2024.

The figures below are showing data for the period 23-01-2024 to 06-02-2024.

Until today, Thetis sampled 4096 depth profiles on Lake Geneva. In this Newsletter we show 32 profiles, so just 0.78% of the recorded data. The complete data set is available at Datalakes.

Data highlights of this issue

Our Thetis profiler is back online after a prolonged period of maintenance. On top of that, we can finally bring back the Chlorophyll A and Backscattering plots. But nothing in life is for free, and so in return our wave buoy is currently getting its well deserved check-up.

The most important information we get out of this short time series shown in this issue is three-fold:

  1. Water temperature anomalies are generally in the positive range, albeit small in magnitude. The highest temperature anomalies are around +0.2 Kelvin. Rather elevated air temperatures for this time of the year heat up the water column.

  2. The oxygen and temperature distribution in the water column is very homogeneous. Especially after February 4th, the gradient of dissolved oxygen between the surface of the lake and the maximum depth of Thetis is extremely small. This is due to the strong mixing during this winter so far.

  3. The phytoplancton community seems to enjoy the fair weather conditions and the well mixed nutrients in the water column.

What is displayed

Data from the Thetis profiler:

  • Water Temperature in °Celsius

  • Water Temperature Anomaly on daily resolution with respect to to the available daily climatology from Thetis so far in Kelvin

  • Dissolved Oxygen mg/L

  • Oxygen Saturation in %

  • Chlorophyll A in μg/L

  • Chlorophyll A Anomaly on daily resolution with respect to to the available daily climatology from Thetis so far in μg/L

  • Backscattering of light 700 nm in 1.e-2 m-1, representing zooplankton or larger particles in the water

Data from the automatic weather station:

  • Air Temperature in °Celsius

  • Wind Speed in m/s

  • Precipitation in mm

Data from the wave buoy:

  • Wave height in decimeter

Authorship and further information

This newsletter is created by EPFL, specifically Martin Wegmann.

For more information about LéXPLORE, contacting us and possibilities to visit the platform: lexplore.info

If you want to know more about the Chlorophyll distribution across Lake Geneva, have a look at the satellite data map by our colleagues at CIPEL.

If you want to know more about the water temperature distribution across Lake Geneva, have a look at the lake reanalysis and forecasts by our colleagues at EAWAG.

If you want to use figures from the LéXPLORE Letters, you can use the following citation:

EPFL, Limnology Center 2024: LéXPLORE Letters, 39, https://lexplore.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/lexplore-letters-2024-02-13.html