How Is A Lake Or River That Freezes Over Helpful To The Organisms In The Water. Below-freezing temperatures can cause ice to form over your pond or lake. Frozen water forms a _______ whereby molecule are set at fixed distances.
Eventually the coldest water which has floated to the top of the lake in wintry conditions freezes to form a layer of ice. The ice prevents the chilled air surrounding the water body from getting to the organisms inside the water. This in turn often creates large dead zonesareas depleted of oxygen and unable to support life.
The temperature of the water below the ice is kept at a stable level and it allows the organisms in the water to survive at a sustainable temperature.
During the summer the epilimnion or surface layer is the warmest. The deepest layer the hypolimnion is the coldest. This process of lakes turning over is crtically important to the life in the lake. The temperature of the water below the ice is kept at a stable level and it allows the organisms in the water to survive at a sustainable temperature.
