Comments
bullwinkle8088 t1_j7dudfm wrote
Here is what I get from this: Picture a nice round lake at the surface shaped like a vertical hourglass in depth, thats is the "gets wider" part and what i think OP is asking about.
it is an interesting question, and is a quite possible shape. The first thing that comes to mind is the lake in Louisiana that flooded a salt dome underneath it, generating not an hourglass shape but a huge flooded cavern under the lake. This is at least a similar layout to the question.
[deleted] t1_j7dwpwx wrote
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rootofallworlds t1_j7e2j3t wrote
I don’t know any specific term. A lake like you describe is a rare thing. They might occur in karst terrain, but the size of any such lakes are fairly small. The largest cenotes (flooded sinkholes) are a few hundred metres across and won’t necessarily have a below the waterline undercut.
[deleted] t1_j7eaer7 wrote
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THEpottedplant t1_j7ew6yd wrote
Like this (the top is the surface):
\ /
\ /
\ /
/ \
/_______\
[deleted] t1_j7ey8kr wrote
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CrustalTrudger t1_j7f927z wrote
Right, I understand what an hourglass looks like, the point is that this type of question probably stemmed from a particular example and so providing that example would help narrow down specifically what OP is asking about.
Ebice42 t1_j7fvvwc wrote
The only hourglass shaped lake I know of is Warm Mineral Springs in FL. It has that shape due to a sinkhole when ocean levels were lower. With a hotspring erosion setting off the process. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warm_Mineral_Springs_(spring)#:~:text=Warm%20Mineral%20Springs%20is%20a%20sinkhole%20formed%20in%20carbonate%20rock,metres%20(236%20ft)%20across.
[deleted] t1_j7gfbz6 wrote
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Irisgrower2 OP t1_j7gnpp5 wrote
You are correct, there is a specific example. I won't offer up the name for online safety reasons. I'm not affiliated with any organization and this is a passion project.
The lake in question, like the one mentioned in Florida, is mostly spring fed. The rock type is much more dense. It is classified as oligotrophic despite its boundaries having been deforested, used for agriculture for over a century, and summer home development. I find that bizarre and am attempting to gain a broader scope of understanding of the systems before possibly spending next winter counting diatoms from core samples.
Furthermore, I suspect the vast majority of bathymetric map data was collected via measuring a rope with a weight at it's end. Such a methodology would overlook the characteristic I've been referring to.
Lastly, I hypothesize lake bottoms which share this characteristic maintain other anomalies to limnology models.
Cottonjaw t1_j7h32y3 wrote
The only thing I can imagine is karst terrain (limestone erosion) causing a sinkhole to form. Typical lake forming processes shouldn't result in this.
Grain of salt; I only have an undergrad in geology, and hydro was not my jam.
[deleted] t1_j7h7zh9 wrote
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Irisgrower2 OP t1_j7h8ll3 wrote
there is myth of similar underwater caves where the "lake monster" lives
Wrathchilde t1_j7hepvd wrote
Bathymetric mapping techniques using either sonar or the interesting "rope with a weight on the end" method you mentioned do not capture overhanging features well. You would need to collect 3-D data like with an AUV or ROV to produce a model, and a standard bathymetric projection map would not be able to display it in any case.
I have been in a submersible and encountered large overhangs not shown on maps even in areas that have extensive data. It's unnerving.
CrustalTrudger t1_j7d2fl0 wrote
It's pretty unclear what you're describing, providing an example of a lake with this feature might help.