Bubbling Mysteries: Decoding the Air Bubble Mystery in Your Water

Q. Why suddenly was our dam surface covered in air bubbles for a few days then disappeared? There was no rain or air disturbance?

ANSWER

The mystery of air bubbles or bubble-like globules in your water may lead to a variety of conclusions. If they appeared transiently and then disappeared, the most likely explanation points to oxygen depletion within the water column.

This often occurs when a stratified layer of warm water forms on the surface. Typically extending 50cm to 1m in depth and maintaining a temperature 3 to 5 degrees higher than the layer beneath it, this stratified layer inhibits the cooler water below from absorbing oxygen from the water’s surface. Consequently, the lower layer attempts to extract oxygen from the sediment at the bottom, resulting in the emergence of air bubbles, as seen in your photos. This process may also bring up sediment and oils along with the rising bubbles.

Given the transient nature of this occurrence, it aligns with the likelihood of oxygen depletion as the root cause. If you have an aeration system in your dam, consider extending the run time of the aerator. Alternatively, if you don’t have one, it may be worth exploring the possibility of implementing aeration to stop such occurrences in the future.