Which property of water best contributes to a frozen lake being warm after a cold winter as a result mineral nutrients are brought to the surface?

The property of water that would be most likely to contribute to this would be the fact that water’s density is greatest at four degrees Celsius. Mineral nutrients get absorbed into the water as the water turns and churns, since they are solvents. Water is the best dissolvant, after all. As the water settles in the winter, so do the solvents in the water.

If the water doesn’t churn at all for long enough, the nutrients will physically settle at the bottom of the lake. Then, when the frozen water up at the top starts to defrost, it runs to the bottom of the lake. The same principle of heat applies to water as it does to air: heat rises, and cold sinks. Therefore, dissolved mineral nutrients rise with the warmer water underneath the ice.