Why can life survive under a frozen lake?

Only the top layer of the lake or river freezes. Underneath the frozen upper layer, the water remains in its liquid form and does not freeze. Also, oxygen is trapped beneath the layer of ice. As a result, fish and other aquatic animals find it possible to live comfortably in the frozen lakes and ponds.



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“In most lakes there is enough oxygen under the ice that they survive the winter.” It's like having a bank account, he says: The fish gradually draw down their banked oxygen and hope there's enough to get through to spring. If not, some of them die.

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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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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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Therefore, below freezing temperatures are needed for a week or more to form ice on a large lake. As I have mentioned before, water is a unique substance in that the solid form (ice) is lighter than the liquid form (water).

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Great Lakes that have completely frozen include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to have never frozen entirely.

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Health risks Winter swimming can be dangerous to people who are not used to swimming in very cold water. After immersion in cold water the cold shock response will occur, causing an uncontrollable gasp for air. This is followed by hyperventilation, a longer period of more rapid breathing.

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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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