rookie question-water warming trends

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

What warms quicker, muddy-murky water or clear water?

[Jeff P.]

Clear water will warm up more slowly than water with some stain to it, all other factors being equal.  The stained (also muddy, murky, etc) water has more particulate matter, either organic or non-organic, to hold in warmth.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Clear water will warm up more slowly than water with some stain to it, all other factors being equal. The stained (also muddy, murky, etc) water has more particulate matter, either organic or non-organic, to hold in warmth.

But doesn't it stand to reason that sunlight can reach further down in clear water, thus warming a larger water column than if the passage of light were blocked by particles? Just a thought...

[K_Mac]

Water is much more transparent to solar radiation than soil. Even though sunlight can penetrate deeper in clear water, it takes longer to heat (and cool).

[Siebert Outdoors]

clear water reflects heat instead of absorbing it like a muddy lake does.

Kinda like aluminum and a black pot.  The black pot will heat more quickly in direct sunlight

[K_Mac]

Gloomisman

Your post got me thinking, so I dug out an old Earth Science textbook (Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens). I have too much time on my hands right now, so here you go:

The fraction of the total radiation that is reflected by a surface is called its Albedo. This is about 30% for Earth as a whole. It varies greatly depending on cloud cover and particulate matter in the air, the angle of the Sun's rays, and the nature of the surface.

The amount reflected is as follows:

Clouds-average of all types and thickness                              50-55%

Concrete                                                       17-27

Crops, green                                          5-25

Forrest, green                                          5-10

Meadows, green                                          5-25

Ploughed fields, moist                                          14-17

Road, blacktop                                          5-10

Sand, white                                          30-60

Snow, fresh-fallen                                          80-90

Soil, dark                                                5-15

Soil, light (or desert)                                          25-30

Water                                                8*

*Typical Albedo for a body of water. The Albedo of a water surface varies greatly depending on the Sun angle. If the Sun angle is greater than 30 degrees, the Albedo is less than 5%. When the Sun is near the horizon (Sun angle less than 3%), the Albedo is more than 60%.

Among the reasons for differential heating of land and water are the following:

1.      The specific heat (amount of energy needed to raise 1 gram of a substance 1degree C) is far greater for water than for land. Thus, water requires a great deal more heat to raise its temperature the same amount as an equal quantity of land.

2.      Land surfaces are opaque, so heat is absorbed only at the surface. Water, being more transparent, allows some solar radiation to penetrate to a depth of many meters.

3.      The water that is heated often mixes with water below, thus distributing the heat through an even larger mass.

4.      Evaporation (a cooling process) from water bodies is greater than from land surfaces.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

In my opinion clear water over shallow mud warms faster than tea-stained water. Black bottoms absorb heat. Small particles in stained or slightly muddy water lose their heat too fast to sustain water warming. To a slightly lesser extent shallow thin vegetation warms water up and holds heat longer, but not as long as deep mud. Muddy water prevents penetration of sunlight, so takes longer to warm up, but once warm it tends to remain warm better than the above scenarios. Warm rainwater running over warmed ground into a lake is the source of quickest warm-up in spring. The larger the lake the more whatever warm water on the surface can be spread around by wind. Big lake dynamics simply effect more and greater change than small lakes.

Jim

[KU_Bassmaster.]

I can give a real life example from last weekend.

At a lake I fish the boat ramp is located near the dam area ...... pretty clear water.

Water temp was 58 there.  I went to the extreme other end of the lake which is a lot murkier ... almost muddy.  Water temp there was 62.

[chitwnbass]

Allot of variables to consider when answering this. In a closed environment with no other variables affecting it the stained water will heat faster.  Although rocks, the lake bottom will heat up and hold heat better than water.  Clear water would allow these items to absorbe more heat than stained water.  But in general the more particulates you have in the water the faster it will heat.

[Flatfish]

Also has a lot to do with mass, the upper end of a lake will be shallower and will warm up quicker, but will also cool quicker. So what you have to do is stay on the lake and fish it all.

[Master_Hunter_1977]

theres an article in In-Fisherman about 2 issues ago.  It address this topic specificly.  You may want to read it.  There is to much for me to cover in such a sort period.  Basicly darker water has particles in it and that helps the water warm up quicker.  Read the article though you will get a lot out of it.

Scott