Characteristics and driving factors of thermal stratification evolution in Daheiting Reservoir

Thermal stratification which is common in water bodies is subject to such factors as the water depth of the water body (a lake or reservoir, for instance), the fluidity of the water and the local meteorological conditions. The stable thermal stratification in reservoirs will lead to changes in the physical and chemical properties of the water as well as distribution of aquatic creatures, hence leaving an impact on the water quality. The Daheiting Reservoir was taken as the research object in this study. Based on the continuous monitored water temperature data in the reservoir, the tempo-spatial change features of the water temperature structure in the reservoir were analyzed, and the driving factors of thermal stratification in the reservoir was studied. The research found that air temperature, wind speed, and hydrodynamic factors are the driving factors for the thermal stratification and corresponding water temperature change patterns in Daheiting Reservoir. Among these factors, air temperature is the fundamental precondition, the wind speed is the auxiliary precondition, and the hydrodynamic factors are the disturbance factors for thermal stratification in the Reservoir. All these factors act together to cause the thermal stratification pattern and evolution features in Daheiting Reservoir.