How do animals live in frozen lakes?

In fact, the sheets of ice that form on the surface shelter the water below from the cold, therefore it remains in its liquid form, allowing plants and aquatic animals to survive the winter. This miracle of nature is due to the peculiar behaviour of water molecules that form the upper layer of the lake.



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Most lakes and ponds don't completely freeze because the ice (and eventually snow) on the surface acts to insulate the water below. Our winters aren't long or cold enough to completely freeze most local water bodies. This process of lakes turning over is crtically important to the life in the lake.

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In water that is around the freezing point, a person is likely to survive only 15 to 45 minutes with flotation and possibly up to an hour or so with flotation and protective gear before the brain and heart stop (Table 1). The surface temperature of Lake Superior in early to mid-summer is about 40 to 50 F.

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The sudden shock of the cold water can quickly impact your breathing, your heart rate and your blood pressure enough so that it can be life-threatening. You are then at a greater risk of drowning.

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Surface Temperatures. —During the winter, from the latter part of December to the breaking up of the ice in the spring, the temperature of the water under the ice is 32 F. The water then warms at a uniform rate to 72 F.

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