kids encyclopedia robot

Lake retention time facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Lake retention time (also called the residence time of lake water, or the water age or flushing time) is the calculated average time that water (or a dissolved substance) spends in a lake. At its simplest this figure is the result of dividing the lake volume by the flow in or out of the lake. It describes the amount of time that is needed for a substance to flow in and out of a lake.

Images for kids

  • Illustration of the concept "lake retention time"

    The lake retention time for a body of water with the volume 2,000 m3 (71,000 cu ft) and the exit flow of 100 m3/h (3,500 cu ft/h) is 20 hours.

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Lake retention time Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.