Esshup, you present compelling evidence that an aerator has a limited effective area of impact.
As you stated, "I guess it would depend on how far away the aerated area was from the non aerated area"
Without significant inflow, under the winter ice there should be little physical movement of water and it would seem that oxygen concentration would be limited (as Bill C points out) by light induced oxygen production, consumption, and any dispersion/diffusion from an aerated area. When we use aeration and create open areas in the ice, my question is, "how large an area is typically impacted by limited mixing and diffusion?" Or, "If the cold water in the open hole has a concentration of 13-14 mg/L of oxygen, at steady state, how far from the hole must you be before the oxygen level is lethal, assuming no additional sources of oxygen?"
Problem is that I don't know the consumption rate under the ice, since without consumption the whole pond would ultimately be oxygen saturated. Maybe there is a good estimate of consumption based on bio-load.
