We investigated convection caused by surface cooling and mixing attributable to wind shear stress and their roles as agents for the transport of phytoplankton cells in the water column by carrying out two daily surveys during the stratified period of the Sau reservoir. Green algae, diatoms, and cryptophyceae were the dominant phytoplankton communities during the surveys carried out in the middle (July) and end (September) of the stratified period. We show that a system with a linear stratification and that is subject to weak surface forcing, with weak winds ,4 m s 21 and low energy dissipation rate values of the order of 10 28 m 2 s 23 or lower, enables the formation of thin phytoplankton layers. These layers quickly disappear when water parcels mix because there is a medium external forcing (convection) induced by the night surface cooling, which is characterized by energy dissipation rates on the order of ,5 3 10 28 m 2 s 23 . During both surveys the wind generated internal waves during the entire diurnal cycle. During the day, and because of the weak winds, phytoplankton layers rise in the water column up to a depth determined by both solar heating and internal waves. In contrast, during the night phytoplankton mixes down to a depth determined by both convection and internal waves. These internal waves, together with the wind-driven current generated at the surface, seem to be the agents responsible for the horizontal transport of phytoplankton across the reservoir.

Water withdrawal from Mediterranean reservoirs in summer is usually very high. Because of this, stratification is often continuous and far from the typical two-layered structure, favoring the excitation of higher vertical modes. The analysis of wind, temperature, and current data from Sau reservoir (Spain) shows that the third vertical mode of the internal seiche (baroclinic mode) dominated the internal wave field at the beginning of September 2003. We used a continuous stratification two-dimensional model to calculate the period and velocity distribution of the various modes of the internal seiche, and we calculated that the period of the third vertical mode is ϳ24 h, which coincides with the period of the dominating winds. As a result of the resonance between the third mode and the wind, the other oscillation modes were not excited during this period.

Improved calculations of emissions of greenhouse gases from stratified lakes require understanding the physical processes controlling transport of dissolved gases to the air‐water interface on diel, synoptic, and seasonal time scales. We address this issue during the transition from late summer to autumn cooling in a small temperate lake by combining micrometeorology, physical limnology, and carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements throughout the water column. Over the 26‐day campaign, the lake cooled and emitted CO2 with daily average loss of 23 mmol CO2 m−2 d−1. Over diel cycles, lake surface pCO2 decreased during daytime heating and increased during nighttime cooling, while daytime CO2 fluxes exceeded nighttime fluxes by 35% due to higher daytime wind speeds. We compared the effects of diel and synoptic weather patterns on the CO2 distribution within the lake and lake‐atmosphere CO2 flux. Increases in near‐surface pCO2 scaled with stratification and heat loss which moderated transport of dissolved gases into the mixed layer. When winds were above ~4 m s−1, lake‐scale circulations drove upwelling and downwelling that redistributed heat and carbon dioxide between the northeast and southwest basins. Short‐burst peak CO2 fluxes exceeded 50 mmol m−2 d−1 during windy periods associated with storms. However, the seasonal cooling‐induced transition to persistent deep mixing led to the highest CO2 concentrations in the mixed layer and at the surface and the highest sustained CO2 fluxes (approaching 100 mmol m−2 d−1).

The changes in abundance and composition experienced by phytoplankton communities in lakes and reservoirs occur in response to variations in the physical (light climate or energy) and the chemical (nutrient availability or resources) constraints for algal growth. Mediterranean reservoirs are very dynamic systems, subject to frequent changes in the physical environment as a result of water management operations, which suggests that phytoplankton communities might also undergo frequent changes. The phytoplankton community composition, abundance and seasonal dynamics of El Gergal, a medium-size Mediterranean reservoir, is analyzed and interpreted in terms of changes in the nutrient-energy balance. It is demonstrated that the seasonal scale changes in the physical environment trigger the seasonal predictable autogenic dynamics of the phytoplankton community. In addition, frequent short-term external perturbations of the physical environment may also induce allogenic shifts and reversions in the succession. The physical changes occur mainly as a result of variations in the outflows. Results are discussed in terms of phytoplankton functional groups life cycle strategies and water quality management.

The causal mechanism and seasonal evolution of the internal wave field in a deep, warm, monomictic reservoir are examined through the analysis of field observations and numerical techniques. The study period extends from the onset of thermal stratification in the spring until midsummer in 2005. During this time, wind forcing was periodic, with a period of 24 h (typical of land-sea breezes), and the thermal structure in the lake was characterized by the presence of a shallow surface layer overlying a thick metalimnion, typical of small to medium sized reservoirs with deep outtakes. Basin-scale internal seiches of high vertical mode (ranging from mode V3 to V5) were observed in the metalimnion. The structure of the dominant modes of oscillation changed as stratification evolved on seasonal timescales, but in all cases, their periods were close to that of the local wind forcing (i.e., 24 h), suggesting a resonant response. Nonresonant oscillatory modes of type V1 and V2 became dominant after large frontal events, which disrupted the diurnal periodicity of the wind forcing.