We were in Aviemore last week and witnessed the huge amounts of nightly tents on the beach at Loch Morlich and all of the associated rubbish and debris. So wondering how nature deals with this ? At a seaside version, tidal action and coastal processes must help a lot to keep things fresh and clean. How, if at all does it work in an inland Loch or lake where there is no tide and a lot less water recirculating ?

Each of the lochs has a drain plug and they are periodically emptied and filled with with fresh Highland Spring. I was Loch Vaa’s turn last year.

Every so often someone in estates comes round and removes the lochs, usually without warning

Start worrying about it once you’ve counted up the number of fish that **** and shit in the water.

Loch Morlich has strong inflow and outflow. It’s also pretty shallow, so residence time is relatively short. However, flow across the loch is not uniform so there’ll be more stagnant bits than others eg the se corner. The wind also mixes the water column although there’s likely to be a weak thermocline in the deep parts of the basin af this time of year which will limit circulation. That’ll break down at the end of the summer ahead of a winter of wind powered mixing.
As lochs go, the water is pretty good.
If you’re interested, there’s a bathymetric map up in the water sports centre which was done in the 70s or 80s, I can’t remember which, by a school as part of a field study.

Thats what I said

There was folk camping on wee beach at the green lochan, complete with cheap shitey blow up kayaks.

I’ve no idea why, but that pissed me off, way more than the same at morlich.

There was someone camping on the wee decked viewing platform at the Green Lochan last year. I actually thought it was quite inventive.

I wonder if they discovered the leeches?

There was folk camping on wee beach at the green lochan, complete with cheap shitey blow up kayaks.

An Lochan Uaine doesn’t have same visible inflow and outflow. Crap will stay in it longer – we’ll longer than the shitty padlocks folk insist on fastening you the fence at the seating area anyway! 🤬

Every so often someone in estates comes round and removes the lochs, usually without warning

Very good

Funny answers, all good, as I know it’s not one with a simple solution. As a regular visitor I do sympathise with the locals who have to tolerate it all..

I guess once autumn comes nature heals..

Loch tay has a tide.

I’ve seen it go up 2m in 2 hours.

Loch tay has a tide.

In freshwater bodies it’s called a seiche and is caused by local changes in atmospheric conditions rather than gravitational pull of the sun and moon.

2m is impressive for a seiche.

As a regular visitor I do sympathise with the locals who have to tolerate it all..

But not the **** over the back from us who played Orange tunes on his flute most days.

I wonder if they discovered the leeches?

We call it the leechy loch in our family.

To be part of the solution rather than part of the problem a) please don’t visit Scotland and b) don’t ‘wild’ camp out of your car and think your having a ‘wild’ experience. You’re being anti-social.

A) it doesn’t
B) it doesn’t
Any crap left on the beach of a loch or the seashore doesn’t just magic away, it’s there or in the wider environment until it decomposes and it decomposition products are then the pollution, or doesn’t if it’s persistent. If it’s organic it’ll be used by the biome on some way but that biome will be altered irreversibly, if not necessarily appreciably, by that interaction.

But also what dangerbrain said

2m is impressive for a seiche.

You call it seiche.

I call it p*ss*ng down for hours, combined with a drainage basin the size of an English county combined with steep rivers.

It occasionally did it when the ice and snow melted quickly.

On her first visit to our old house, my mother in law couldn’t understand how rain could go horizontally passed the window or how there wasn’t a hose pipe aimed at the house…

Loch Tay has a residence time of 99 days.

Every so often someone in estates comes round and removes the lochs, usually without warning

This deserves more recognition.

😀

Scotroutes
Do you see many people swimming in the green loch? Have been doing a fair bit of open water lately and this one would great to do on my next visit?

@robbie – a few. It’s not one of the favourites amongst locals though. Maybe on account of the leeches. I assume you’ve been in Loch an Eilean, Vaa and Pityoulish?

I have Lochan na Beinne (up near the Ciste car park) on my to-do list.

On her first visit to our old house, my mother in law couldn’t understand how rain could go horizontally passed the window or how there wasn’t a hose pipe aimed at the house…

I did a year’s placement with a major oil company while at uni. We were in a conference call with the Israeli makers of one of the sensors we were testing. The conversation went:

Us – “Your sensor doesn’t work in horizontal rain.”

Them, after a pause and slowly – “You. don’t. get. horizontal. rain.”

Everyone at our side: “Oh yes you do!”

@Scotroutes
No I’ve not. Possibly Up there in a few weeks so good alternatives. thanks