Probe any natural phenomena with the 5 Whys. Prepare yourself to leap from the concrete and observable to the speculative and spiritual by the third why.
I keep six honest serving-menIf you examine any natural phenomena with the 5 Whys, one why is usually down to temperature. Temperature seems to be the engine of flow in much of nature.
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
— Rudyard Kipling, excerpt from the tale of The Elephant's Child
Temperature drives change. It starts revolutions.
Fresh Water Lakes
"Who comes to a lake for water and sees the reflection of moon?"Lake water undergoes a temperature-driven revolution during each seasonal cycle.
― Rumi
During the hottest and the coldest time of the year, lake water temperatures are sharply stratified from top to bottom. On the contrary, during the transitional periods from cold to warm, or from warm to cold, the water temperature in lakes overturns to become well-mixed (i.e., nearly homogeneous from top to bottom).
 |
| Seasonal Temperature Profile of a Lake in the Northern Hemisphere |
 |
| Great Northern Loon |
"When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float."The depth where the water temperature changes most rapidly, is the thermocline depth, or metalimnion.
― Alan Watts
During the coldest months, lakes might ice over. Ice and snow cover reflect incident solar radiation. A cold strata of denser water will overlie the less dense, warmer water below. Stratification foments ripeness for change.
 |
| Sunset over the ice of Lake Superior |
- Temperature changes density; and
- Density changes buoyancy.
The revolution is ongoing, repetitious, and sublimely beautiful in its simplicity.
REFERENCES
- Just So Stories, 1902, by Rudyard Kipling.
- Thermocline, Wikipedia.
- Lake Ecosystem, Wikipedia.
