Quantifying effects of phytoplankton on the heat budgets of two large limnetic enclosures

Abstract

Summary 1. The aestival heat budgets of two large limnetic enclosures within a small lake in the English Lake District were studied. During summer, these enclosures had different nutrient supplies and consequently different phytoplankton populations. 2. As initial temperature profiles were similar and the incoming surface heat and momentum fluxes for the two enclosures were identical, subsequent changes in the heat budget were assumed to be induced by the biological differences between the enclosures. The proposed mechanism is an increased surface absorption of solar radiation leading to extra surface warming and a consequent excess loss of heat to the atmosphere through long‐wave emittance and sensible and latent heat fluxes, conservatively estimated to be of the order of 10–30 W m −2 . 3. Theoretical calculations show that potential effects on a heat budget could be considerably larger than those observed here. The inherent non‐linearity of the heat fluxes implies that such effects will be more important in warmer lakes than in colder ones. 4. Thermocline depth and strength were also altered by the response to differences in phytoplankton. 5. Any changes in climate or in nutrient loading from the catchment which substantially affect abundance or timing of phytoplankton populations in a lake will consequently also change the thermal structure of the lake.