Stratification regimes and thermodynamic modelling of a subtropical African reservoir

Abstract The stratification of a lentic water system is an important factor regulating its biotic activities and processes. The present study investigated changes in temperature and oxygen stratification regimes in Mazvikadei Reservoir 27 years after the first study was conducted during its filling phase. The FLake‐Global model was also tested as a predictive tool for the first time to analyse annual limnological trends in a subtropical reservoir. The lake‐modelling tool FLake‐Global enables an instantaneous estimation of the seasonal cycle of temperature and mixing conditions in shallow freshwater lakes around the world. The results of the present study illustrate that the reservoir was weakly stratified, with the overall thermal stratification patterns somewhat similar to those recorded during the filling phase (1992). The oxygen stratification patterns observed in the present study correspond well to those of thermal stratification. The depth‐integrated oxygen profiles for both the deep and shallow sampling sites exhibited the same pattern, with higher concentrations from July to September. The water column was well oxygenated, indicating the reservoir has matured since its filling phase in 1992, when there was significant hypolimnetic deoxygenation. The FLake‐Global model exhibited good results in predicting annual trends, with the results also indicating no differences in stratification levels in the reservoir for the current and Masundire (1992) filling phase studies. The model predicted lower surface and bottom temperatures, however, compared to those measured in the reservoir. There was lowering of the mixed layer depth from the hot‐wet (November–April) months through the cool‐dry (May–August) season. Latent heat fluxes agreed with the net longwave (LW) predictions for Mazvikadei Reservoir, which exhibited an overall net cooling effect. The stratification has not changed significantly since the previous study in 1988. The FLake‐Global model proved a useful predictive tool when tested in a subtropical system.