Numerical study of the seasonal thermal and gas regimes of the large artificial reservoir in Western Europe using LAKE2.0 model

Iakunin, M., Stepanenko, V., Salgado, R., Potes, M., Penha, A., Novais, M. H., and Rodrigues, G.

The Alqueva reservoir (southeast of Portugal) being the largest artificial lake in Western Europe and strategic freshwater supply in the region is of scientific interest in terms of monitoring and maintaining the quality and quantity of water and its impact on the regional climate. To solve these tasks we conducted numerical studies of the thermal and gas regimes in the lake over the period from May 2017 to March 2019, supplemented by the data observed at the weather stations and the floating platforms during the field campaign of the ALOP (ALentejo Observation and Prediction System) project. One-dimensional model LAKE2.0 was used for the numerical studies. Being highly versatile and adjusted to the specific features of the reservoir, this parameterization is capable to simulate its thermodynamic and biogeochemical characteristics. Profiles and time series of water temperature, sensible and latent heat fluxes, concentrations of CO2 and O2 reproduced by the LAKE2.0 model were validated against the observed data and were compared with the thermodynamic simulation results obtained with the FLake model. The results demonstrated that LAKE2.0 model has good ability in capturing the seasonal variations in the water surface temperature and the internal thermal structure of the Alqueva reservoir, and satisfactorily captured the seasonal gas regime.

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