Dummy Data Parameters

[DougCollinge]

I want to write a fake data generator for testing and I want some advice on the parameters. I presume that the water stratifies into three zones: mixing zone, thermocline, and whatever is below that. The mixing zone has zero or small temperature change, the thermocline occurs at some depth and has a large temperature change across its extent, then the temperature changes more slowly down to the deepest sample. Here are the proposed parameters:

• surface temperature
• temperature at the center of the thermocline
• slope of the thermocline in degrees/meter
• slope of the temperature in the deeper water.
• change of depth between samples
• depth of deepest sample
  From these parameters I can work out the entire curve. Then I can add various random variabilities, like noise on the temperature and depth, slow fluctuations in the values using additional parameters to control them.

So that's what I think - how would you, the actual limnologist here, like to see it?