Modeling water currents and temperatures in Lake Geneva
Discover Meteolakes' digital hydrodynamic model
Every 3 hours, the model developed atEawag calculates current speed and direction, as well as water temperature, using meteorological data (wind speed and direction at lake surface, air temperature, sunshine, etc.).
Surface currents are represented in the graph below by white moving lines, which show the recirculation of water.
The temperature at the surface of the lake is represented using a color palette: warm water is displayed in redand cold water in blue.
👉 The temperature is not uniform across the surface of the lake. Depending on where you are on the lake, the temperature can vary by several °C.
Lake Geneva water temperature at the LéXPLORE measuring station
Discover the evolution of water temperatures by depth over the last 24 days
The temperature of the water in Lake Geneva is measured continuously (every 10 minutes) from the LéXPLORE platform located on the lake off Pully, Switzerland. Thanks to Datalakes discover their evolution!
These measurements are carried out at different depths, enabling simultaneous visualization of water temperature trends at the surface and at depth in Lake Geneva. It is thus possible to plot temperature trends as a function of time and depth.
The horizontal axis of the graph below represents time and the vertical axis depth. Water temperature is represented using a color palette: warm water is displayed in red and cold water in blue.
👉 Water temperature is relatively even in summer between the surface and a depth of around ten meters, although there are occasional major oscillations. Below 10 m, temperatures drop rapidly.
Software developer
James Runnalls (Eawag)
Project PI Damien Bouffard
(Eawag & UNIL)
