Identifying Effects of Basin-Scale Waves on Hypolimnetic Dissolved Oxygen: A Coherence Analysis

The understanding of basin-scale waves gleaned from literature, computational models, and spectral analyses provided the basis for a thorough coherence analysis of time series temperature, pressure, and oxygen data, yielding a unique insight into the relationships between basin scale waves and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the hypolimnion of Lake Tahoe. The results show that while high frequency (∼11 min period) surface seiches do not directly influence hypolimnetic DO concentrations, they may indirectly effect oxygen transport by inducing hypolimnetic advection in winter months. Lower-frequency (∼19 h period) Poincare waves were also shown to affect hypolimnetic DO concentration via induced hypolimnetic advection, even in the deepest areas of the lake, regardless of seasonality.