The north-eastern part of Nidziańska Basin, near Staszów, boasts a large grouping of small but relatively deep lakes of karst origin. In 2010, 26 of them underwent regular measurements of the temperature of their surface layer of water. The results show that although the basins are situated close to each other and the area has similar characteristics, the temperature differs significantly. The thermal differences reach 11.6ºC. The warmest lakes appear to be Lake Łajba, Duży Staw, Lakes Torfowe I and Torfowe II. However, the coldest surface water is in lakes Piąty Staw, a small unnamed lake located near Lake Ciemne and an unnamed lake sandwiched between Lake Szyja and Lake Jasne.The fact that the temperature of the water goes up results directly from solar radiation, which was the strongest in the case of Lake Łajba, located in an open area. However, the coldest basins were located in the central parts of the lakes of the floating peat islands. Those biogenic islands are perfect “insulators”, protecting the water from thermal radiation. Moreover, the lakes which are fed with soligenous water supplies, tend to have a lower temperature.
The research covered three genetic groups of lakes (karst, aeolian, and riverine) which occur in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Depending on the specific group, the lakes have different morphometric parameters of the lake basin and the water catchment area as well as physical and chemical properties of the water. In winter 2021, after a wave of severe frost, the thickness of the ice was measured on a selected number of lakes. The results of the tests indicate a diverse thickness of the ice caps. Karst lakes had the thickest ice caps. Riverine and aeolian lakes, on the other hand, featured similar thickness of the ice. However, it was noticed that in the case of riverine lakes, the ice cap on shores with prevailing reed was thinner than in the central parts of the lake.
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