Limnology divides lakes into three zones: the littoral zone, a sloped area close to land; the photic or open-water zone, where sunlight is abundant; and the deep-water profundal or benthic zone, where little sunlight can reach.
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A lake's shallowest layer is the epilimnion.Its middle layer is the metalimnion, or thermocline.The deepest layer is the hypolimnion. The most important chemicals in a lake are nitrogen and phosphorus.
Summary. English: The three primary zones of a lake are the littoral, open-water (also called the photic or limnetic), and deep-water (also called the aphotic or profundal) zones. If the above link no longer works, visit http://www.ck12.org and search for CK-12 Earth Science.
So, the four zones of a lake are: the nearshore or littoral zone, open water or limnetic zone, deep water or profundal zone, the benthic zone or lake floor. The different conditions, such as the amount of light, food, and oxygen in each of the lake zones, affect what kind of organisms live there.
Based upon their thermal stratification, lakes are classified as either holomictic, with a uniform temperature and density from top to bottom at a given time of year, or meromictic, with layers of water of different temperature and density that do not intermix.
Typically stratified lakes show three distinct layers: the epilimnion, comprising the top warm layer; the thermocline (or metalimnion), the middle layer, whose depth may change throughout the day; and the colder hypolimnion, extending to the floor of the lake.
The material at the bottom of a lake, or lake bed, may be composed of a wide variety of inorganics, such as silt or sand, and organic material, such as decaying plant or animal matter.
Littoral ZoneThis zone is the shore area of the lake or pond. It consists of the area from dry land that slopes into the open water and can be very narrow or very wide. Typically, oligotrophic, or young, bodies of water have narrow Littoral Zones due to their steep sides.
The profundal zone is a deep zone of an inland body of freestanding water, such as a lake or pond, located below the range of effective light penetration.
Depth should vary from 3 to 12 feet, with an average of 6 to 8 feet. Less than 3 feet of water allows sunlight to reach the bottom of the lake, thus promoting aquatic weed growth, which will limit fish size. In the South, 12 feet of water will protect fish during the winter months.
Every Pond or lake has several different zones that divide the water column from top to bottom and side to side. These zones consist of the Littoral Zone, Limnetic Zone, Profundal Zone, Euphotic Zone, and Benthic Zone.