Software & Models
Open-source models developed internally
The source code of these models is available on GitHub.
A model to predict Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) using air temperature.
Papers where the air2water model is formulated:
Piccolroaz, S., M. Toffolon, and B. Majone (2013), A simple lumped model to convert air temperature into surface water temperature in lakes, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 3323–3338, doi:10.5194/hess-17-3323-2013.
Toffolon, M., S. Piccolroaz, B. Majone, A.-M. Soja, F. Peeters, M. Schmid, and A. Wüest (2014), Prediction of surface temperature in lakes with different morphology using air temperature, Limnol. Oceanogr., 59(6), 2182-2202, doi:10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.2185.
Piccolroaz, S. (2016), Prediction of lake surface temperature using the air2water model: guidelines, challenges, and future perspectives, Advances in Oceanography and Limnology, 7:36–50, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/aiol.2016.5791.
Papers where the air2water model is applied (selection):
Piccolroaz, S., M. Toffolon, and B. Majone (2015), The role of stratification on lakes’ thermal response: The case of Lake Superior, Water Resour. Res, 51, 7878–7894, doi:10.1002/2014WR016555.
Piccolroaz, S., N. C. Healey, J. D. Lenters, S. G. Schladow, S. J. Hook, G. B. Sahoo, and M. Toffolon (2018), On the predictability of lake surface temperature using air temperature in a changing climate: A case study for Lake Tahoe (U.S.A.), Limnol. Oceanogr., 63(1), 243-261, doi:10.1002/lno.10626.
Piccolroaz, S., R. I. Woolway, and C.J. Merchant (2020), Global reconstruction of twentieth century lake surface water temperature reveals different warming trends depending on the climatic zone, Climatic Change, 160(3), doi:10.1007/s10584-020-02663-z
Calamita, E., S. Piccolroaz, B. Majone, and M. Toffolon (2021), On the role of local depth and latitude on surface warming heterogeneity in the Laurentian Great Lakes, Inland Waters, 11(2), 208-222, doi:10.1080/20442041.2021.1873698.
A model to predict river water temperature using air temperature and discharge.
The air2stream model is formulated here:
Toffolon, M., and S. Piccolroaz (2015), A hybrid model for river water temperature as a function of air temperature and discharge, Environ. Res. Lett., 10(11), 114011, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114011.
Papers where the air2stream model is applied:
Piccolroaz, S., E. Calamita, B. Majone, A. Gallice, A. Siviglia, and M. Toffolon (2016), Prediction of river water temperature: a comparison between a new family of hybrid models and statistical approaches, Hydrol. Process., 30(21), 3901–3917, doi:10.1002/hyp.10913.
Arora, R., M. Toffolon, K. Tockner, and M. Venohr (2018), Thermal discontinuities along a lowland river: the importance of urban areas and lakes, Journal of Hydrology, 564, 811–823, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.05.066.
Cai, H., S. Piccolroaz, J. Huang, Z. Liu, F. Liu, and M. Toffolon (2018), Quantifying the impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the thermal dynamics of the Yangtze River, Environ. Res. Lett., 13, 054016, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aab9e0.
The Stratification Energy before Lake Freezing [SELF] is a minimal model to predict the duration of the pre-freezing period in lakes based on thermal and mechanical energy budgets. The model is described here:
Toffolon, M., L. Cortese, and D. Bouffard (2021), SELF v1.0: A minimal physical model for predicting time of freeze-up in lakes, Geosci. Model Dev., doi:10.5194/gmd-2021-234.
The [min]imal model for [D]ouble [D]iffusion [minDD] was developed to interpret the model of double diffusion in lakes using the lowest number of processes: diffusion and vertical stabilisation. The model is described here:
Toffolon, M., A. Wüest, and T. Sommer (2015), Minimal model for double diffusion and its application to Kivu, Nyos and Powell Lake, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans,120, 6202–6224, doi:10.1002/2015JC010970.
Expertise with existing models
The Delft3D model (open-source) is widely used in different contexts. The FLOW module was used to simulate hydro-thermodynamics and transport in several lakes in Italy (Garda; Caldonazzo, Serraia) and Paraguay (Ypacaraí).
Amadori, M., S. Piccolroaz, L. Giovannini, D. Zardi, and M. Toffolon (2018), Wind variability and Earth’s rotation as drivers of transport in a deep, elongated subalpine lake: The case of Lake Garda, Journal of Limnology, 77(3), 505–521, doi:10.4081/jlimnol.2018.1814.
Piccolroaz, S., M. Amadori, M. Toffolon, and H. A. Dijkstra (2019), Importance of planetary rotation for ventilation processes in deep elongated lakes: Evidence from Lake Garda (Italy), Scientific Reports, 9, 8290, doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44730-1.
Amadori, A., L. Giovannini, M. Toffolon, S. Piccolroaz, D. Zardi, M. Bresciani, C. Giardino, G. Luciani, M. Kliphuis, H. van Haren, and H.A. Dijkstra (2021), Multi-scale evaluation of a 3D lake model forced by an atmospheric model against standard monitoring data, Environmental Modeling and Software, 139, 105017, doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105017.
Amadori, M., S. Piccolroaz, H.A. Dijkstra, and M. Toffolon (2020), What makes an elongated lake ‘large’? Scales from wind-driven steady circulation on a rotating Earth, Journal of Great Lakes Research, 46(4), 703–717, doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2019.10.013.
Biemond, B., M. Amadori, M. Toffolon, S. Piccolroaz, H. van Haren, and H.A. Dijkstra (2021), Deep-mixing and deep-cooling events in Lake Garda: Simulation and Mechanisms, J. Limnol., 80(2):2010, doi:10.4081/jlimnol.2021.2010.
This two-dimensional, laterally averaged model (open source) has been used to get a simplified description of the dynamics in some lakes in Italy (Ledro; Serraia; a pro-glacial lake near the Cevedale glacier) and some reservoirs in Norway (Rosskrepp; Oyarvatn).
A vertical one-dimensional model (open source) that can be coupled with an ecological modelling library. The model was used to build a synthetic case study here:
Yousefi, A., M. Toffolon (2022), Critical factors for the use of machine learning to predict lake surface water temperature, Journal of Hydrology, 606, 127418, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.127418.
A vertical one-dimensional model (open source) with a k-epsilon turbulence model. The model was used to reconstruct the dynamics in Lake Zurich here:
Toffolon, M., A. Yousefi, S. Piccolroaz (2022), Estimation of the thermally reactive layer in lakes based on surface water temperature, Water Resources Research, 58, e2021WR031755, doi:10.1029/2021WR031755.