TY - JOUR
T1 - Simulation and observation of ice formation (freeze-over) in a lake
AU - Fang, Xing
AU - Ellis, Christopher R.
AU - Stefan, Heinz G.
PY - 1996/5
Y1 - 1996/5
N2 - The date on which a lake freezes over has significance for the safety of winter lake recreation, for winterkill of fish and for the water quality of ice-covered lakes. This paper describes the development and application of a new algorithm to predict the date of ice formation on a lake. It uses a full heat budget equation to estimate surface cooling, quantifies the effect of forced convective (wind) mixing and includes the latent heat removed by ice formation. The algorithm has a fine spatial resolution near the water surface where temperature gradients before freeze-over are the greatest. Detailed field measurements of water temperatures and local weather data leading to freeze-over of Ryan Lake, Minnesota, are reported and used to verify the algorithm development. Inverse temperature stratification occurs in the near-surface water several hours before ice formation. The new algorithm is combined with a year-round temperature model and tested against observations in Ryan Lake and eight other Minnesota lakes for multiple (9-36) years. The difference between the simulated and observed permanent ice formation dates is less than 6 days for all lakes studied.
AB - The date on which a lake freezes over has significance for the safety of winter lake recreation, for winterkill of fish and for the water quality of ice-covered lakes. This paper describes the development and application of a new algorithm to predict the date of ice formation on a lake. It uses a full heat budget equation to estimate surface cooling, quantifies the effect of forced convective (wind) mixing and includes the latent heat removed by ice formation. The algorithm has a fine spatial resolution near the water surface where temperature gradients before freeze-over are the greatest. Detailed field measurements of water temperatures and local weather data leading to freeze-over of Ryan Lake, Minnesota, are reported and used to verify the algorithm development. Inverse temperature stratification occurs in the near-surface water several hours before ice formation. The new algorithm is combined with a year-round temperature model and tested against observations in Ryan Lake and eight other Minnesota lakes for multiple (9-36) years. The difference between the simulated and observed permanent ice formation dates is less than 6 days for all lakes studied.
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U2 - 10.1016/0165-232X(95)00022-4
DO - 10.1016/0165-232X(95)00022-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0042376682
VL - 24
SP - 129
EP - 145
JO - Cold Regions, Science and Technology
JF - Cold Regions, Science and Technology
SN - 0165-232X
IS - 2
ER -