Temperature analysis for lake Yojoa, Honduras

Lake Yojoa is the largest freshwater lake in Honduras, located in the central west region of the country (1405' N, 88° W). The lake has a surface area of 82 km2, a maximum depth of 26 m. and an average depth of 16 m. The locals believe that the anthropogenic activities around the lake for the past 25 years have impacted the water quality of the lake. Temperature analysis of the lake helps to understand the seasonal changes in the thermal structure of the lake, and it also indicates the seasonal changes in the water quality of the lake. The lake is marginally stratified most of the year, with a maximum difference of 4°C between the water surface and the lake bottom. The temporal changes in the thermal structure of the lake are studied using the lake stability analysis and a temperature model CE-THERM. The two analyses confirm that the lake overturns once a year. However, they differ on the onset of the overturn event and the seasonal changes in the stratification depth. The stability analysis indicates an overturn in November and for some years less stable lake conditions in June. The CE-THERM model was run for year 2005 and it indicates a possible overturn in June, and the lake remaining mixed until December.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Chokshi, Mira (Mira K.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• E. Eric Adams and Peter Shanahan.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35495

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35495