Toward an open access to high-frequency lake modeling and statistics data for scientists and practitioners – the case of Swiss lakes using Simstrat v2.1

Adrien Gaudard,Fabian Bärenbold,Martin Schmid,Love Råman Vinnå,Damien Bouffard

doi:10.5194/gmd-12-3955-2019

Adrien Gaudard, Fabian Bärenbold + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3955-2019

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Abstract

Abstract. One-dimensional hydrodynamic models are nowadays widely recognized as key tools for lake studies. They offer the possibility to analyze processes at high frequency, here referring to hourly timescales, to investigate scenarios and test hypotheses. Yet, simulation outputs are mainly used by the modellers themselves and often not easily reachable for the outside community. We have developed an open-access web-based platform for visualization and promotion of easy access to lake model output data updated in near-real time (http://simstrat.eawag.ch, last access: 29 August 2019). This platform was developed for 54 lakes in Switzerland with potential for adaptation to other regions or at global scale using appropriate forcing input data. The benefit of this data platform is practically illustrated with two examples. First, we show that the output data allows for assessing the long-term effects of past climate change on the thermal structure of a lake. The study confirms the need to not only evaluate changes in all atmospheric forcing but also changes in the watershed or throughflow heat energy and changes in light penetration to assess the lake thermal structure. Then, we show how the data platform can be used to study and compare the role of episodic strong wind events for different lakes on a regional scale and especially how their thermal structure is temporarily destabilized. With this open-access data platform, we demonstrate a new path forward for scientists and practitioners promoting a cross exchange of expertise through openly sharing in situ and model data.

Highlights

Aquatic research is oriented towards providing relevant tools and expertise for practitioners
An emerging alternative approach consists in deploying long-term moorings with sensors and loggers at different depths of the water column. This approach is seldom used for countrylevel monitoring, it is promoted by research initiatives such as GLEON (Hamilton et al, 2015) or NETLAKE (Jennings et al, 2017)
We show that the warming rate of the lake surface temperature significantly differs from that of depth-averaged temperature, thereby highlighting the benefit of using either in situ observations resolving the thermal structure over the water column or hydrodynamic model output for assessing climate change impacts on lake thermal structure

Summary

Introduction

Aquatic research is oriented towards providing relevant tools and expertise for practitioners. Understanding and monitoring inland waters is often based on in situ observations. The physical and biogeochemical properties of many lakes are monitored using monthly to bi-monthly vertical discrete profiles. Part of the dynamics is not captured at this temporal scale (Kiefer et al, 2015). An emerging alternative approach consists in deploying long-term moorings with sensors and loggers at different depths of the water column. This approach is seldom used for countrylevel monitoring, it is promoted by research initiatives such as GLEON (Hamilton et al, 2015) or NETLAKE (Jennings et al, 2017)

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