Meanings
plural monimolimnions · plural monimolimnia
- The lower, dense stratum of a meromictic lake (one with permanently stratified layers) that does not mix with the waters above.First known use 1930s
Mermomictic^([sic – meaning meromictic]) lakes may have an extremely high calcium carbonate content in the monimolimnion.
1969, Roger Y[ates] Anderson, Douglas W. Kirkland, “Paleoecology of the Rita Blanca Lake Area”, in Roger Y. Anderson, Douglas W. Kirkland, editors, Paleoecology of an Early Pleistocene Lake on the High Plains of Texas (Geological Society of America; memoir 113), [Boulder, Colo.]: Geological Society of America, →OCLC, part IV (Synthesis), page 1465 more examples
The resulting pH-drop causes a dissolution of carbonate material which has been biogenically precipitated in the epilimnion. This carbonate is recycled to the surface waters during the autumn and winter circulation and can be transported through the outflowing rivers to the oceans. A similar situation exists in temporary or permanently stratified waters of freshwater, brackish and marine environments. Examples of such environments are the monimolimnions of meromictic lakes, the Baltic Sea […] and Norwegan fjords where a high CO₂ input is maintained by vigorous degradation of organic matter.
1979, S. Golubić, J. Schneider, “Carbonate Dissolution”, in P. A. Trudinger, D. J. Swaine, editors, Biogeochemical Cycling of Mineral-forming Elements (Studies in Environmental Science; 3), Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 122The higher salinity of the monimolimnion, and therefore the greater density, prevents wind-driven mixing. The cause of meromixis in Green Lake is the inflow of saline ground-water springs below a depth of about 20 m.
1985, Roger Y[ates] Anderson, Walter E. Dean, J. Platt Bradbury, David Love, “Introduction”, in Meromictic Lakes and Varved Lake Sediments in North America (U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin; 1607), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 4, column 2The monimolimnion is not a static state but is subject to change, depending mainly on the weather conditions, because of basin's shallowness and the almost stable temperature of the spring waters.
Thalassographica
1979, T. Koussouris, A. Diapoulis, “Unusual Characteristics in a Meromictic Lake in Greece”, in Θαλασσογραφικα [Thalassografika, Thalassographica], Athens: Institouton Ōkeanographikōn kai Alieutikōn Ereunōn [Institute of Oceanographic and Fisheries Research], →OCLC, page 80; reprinted in P. Adrian [et al.], editor, Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry, volumes 20–21 (Environmental Pollution and Its Impact on Life in the Mediterranean Region 1987), New York, N.Y.: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, May 1989, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 310The steps develop in the upper part of the monimolimnion, when in autumn cooling mixolimnion temperatures have dropped below temperatures of the underlying monimolimnion.
2010, C. Vonrohden et al., “Evidence for Double Diffusion in Temperate Meromictic Lakes”, in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, volume 14, number 4, Göttingen, Germany: Copernicus GmbH, pages 667–674; quoted in “Hydrology [University of Heidelberg: Evidence for Double Diffusion in Temperate Meromictic Lakes]”, in Q. Ashton Acton, editor, Issues in Earth Sciences, Geology, and Geophysics, 2011 edition, Atlanta, Ga.: ScholarlyEditions, 2012, →ISBN, page 3297Hypolimnia of stratified eutrophic lakes or the monimolimnia of meromictic lakes may contain appreciable quantities of the very soluble gas H₂S.
2016, Gerald A. Cole, Paul E. Weihe, “The Major Ions in Inland Waters”, in Textbook of Limnology, 5th edition, Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press, →ISBN, page 322
Origin
- Ancient Greekλῐ́μνη“lake”
- Ancient Greekμόνιμος“stable, permanent”
- Englishmonimolimnion
From Ancient Greek μόνιμος (mónimos, “stable, permanent”) + -limnion (from Ancient Greek λῐ́μνη (lĭ́mnē, “lake”) + -ion), first appearing in the writings of British ecologist George Evelyn Hutchinson (1903–1991).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
monimolimnion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monimolimnion
“monimolimnion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monimolimnion. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monimolimnion,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monimolimnion.
Source: monimolimnion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.