Large steep sided lakes with slow moving water are an example of where sharp thermoclines are often found in the summer months. The hypolimnion is often depleted of oxygen at this time due to the biological oxygen demand of bacterial decomposers. At depth there is also reduced photosynthetic activity. The density differences results in little mixing with upper waters. Some examples of the phenomenon in the USA include Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, Lake Superior, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Mead.

The ability of Sigma-Zed in EFDC+ to accurately simulate the stratification of lakes makes it a powerful tool when studying water quality related issues in these situations.