Transient processes associated with the flooding of the Meirama pit lake (La Coruña, Spain)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin.122.2.009Keywords:
Brunt-Väisälä buoyancy frequency, limnology, Meirama, pit lake, Schmidt index, stabilityAbstract
The Meirama pit lake is a system resulting from the currently ongoing forced flooding of an extensive gray-lignite mine. By comprehensively monitoring a wide variety of physical, chemical and biological parameters we are able to describe the main characteristics of this lake after two years of flooding. This paper focuses upon the description of the thermal structure and stability of this meromitic lake. We have been able to identify thermal and chemical homogenization processes that would have been complete after the first year of flooding but only partially so thereafter (affecting only the surface water to a depth of some 30 metres). Stability calculations support the hypothesis of partial mixing in the shallower water, where the transfer of wind energy may contribute to triggering the mixing phenomenon. The deepest waters of the lake, which are isolated by a halocline resulting from the entrance of denser waters during the firsts months of flooding, would be stable, except for the introduction of external energy, according to the results of the calculations of the Brunt-Väisäla buoyancy frequency.
Downloads
References
Boehrer, B. and Schultze, M. 2008. Stratification in lakes, Reviews in Geophysics 46, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006RG000210
Delgado, J., Juncosa, R., Vázquez, A., Falcón, I., Canal, J., Hernández, H., Padilla, F., Rodríguez-Vellando, P. and Delgado, J.L. 2008. Hydrochemical characteristics of the natural waters associated to the flooding of the Meirama open pit (A Coruña, NW Spain), Mineralogical Magazine 72, 107-111. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.399
Delgado, J., Juncosa, R., Vázquez, A., Fernández, A. y González, R. 2010a. Evolución química de la superficie del lago de Meirama tras dos años de inundación controlada. Macla 13, 77-78.
Delgado, J., Juncosa, R., Vázquez, A., Fernández, S., Arias, M.A., González, R. and Fernández, A. 2010b. Hydrochemical evolution of the Meirama pit lake (NW Spain) after two years of flooding. In: Birkle, P. and Torres-Alvarado, I. (eds.), Water-Rock Interaction XIII. Taylor & Francis, New York, 515-518.
Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T. and Ryan, P.D. 2001. PAST, Paleontological Statistics Software Package for Education and Data Analysis, Palaeontologia Electronica 4, 9 p.
Hill, K.D., Dauphinee, T.M. and Woods, D.J. 1986. The extension of the practical salinity scale 1978 to lower salinities. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering OE-11, 109-112. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.1986.1145154
Hondzo, M. and Stefan, H.G. 1996. Long-term water quality predictors, Water Research 30, 2835-2852. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(95)00286-3
Idso, S.B. 1973. On the concept of lake stability. Limnology and Oceanography 18, 681-683. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1973.18.4.0681
Imberger, J. 1979. Mixing in reservoirs. In: Fisher, H.G., List, E.J., Koh, R.C.Y., Imberger, J. and Brooks, N.H. (eds.) Mixing in Inland and Coastal Waters, Academic Press, New York, 148-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-051177-1.50010-6
Ivey, G.N. and Patterson, J.C. 1984. A model for the vertical mixing in Lake Erie in summer. Limnology and Oceanography 29, 553-563. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1984.29.3.0553
Julivert, M., Fontboté, J.M., Ribeiro, A. y Nabais-Conde, L.E. 1972. Mapa tectónico de la Península Ibérica y Baleares 1:1.000.000, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Madrid.
Kalff, J. 2002. Limnology, Prentice Hall, New York, 592 pp.
Lawson, R. and Anderson, M.A. 2007. Stratification and mixing in Lake Elsinore, California: An assessment of axial flow pumps for improving water quality in a shallow eutrophic lake, Water Research 41, 4457-4467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2007.06.004
Lewis, E.L. 1980. The practical salinity scale 1978 and its antecedents, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering OE-5, 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.1980.1145448
Maldonado, A. 1977. Estudio geológico-geofísico del surco Baldayo-Meirama-Boimil, Tesis Doctoral Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 255 pp.
MacKay, D. and Yern, A.T.K. 1983. Mass transfer coefficient correlations for volatilization of organic solutes from water. Environmental Science and Technology 17, 211-217. https://doi.org/10.1021/es00110a006
Marcé, R., Comerma, M., García, J.C., Gomá, J. and Armengol, J. 2000. Limnology of Foix reservoir (Barcelona, Spain), Limnetica 19, 175-191. https://doi.org/10.23818/limn.19.10
Martin, J.L. and McCutcheon, S.C. 1999. Hydrodynamics and transport for water quality modeling, Lewis Publications, Boca Raton, 794 pp.
Millero, F. J. 2000. The equation of state of lakes, Aquatic Geochemistry 6, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009626325650
Walker, K.F. 1974. The stability of meromictic lakes in central Washington, Limnology and Oceanography 19, 209-222. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1974.19.2.0209
Wetzel, R.G. 2001. Limnology: Lake and River Ecosystems. 3rd Edition, Academic Press, San Diego, 1006 pp.
Wetzel, R.G. and Likens, G.E. 2000. Limnological Analyses 3rd Editon, Springer Verlag, New York, 429 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3250-4
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.
