Numerical models of wind driven circulation in Lake Melville, Labrador

Bhogal, Amritpal Singh (1984) Numerical models of wind driven circulation in Lake Melville, Labrador. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (15MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

In this work, a number of numerical models have been adapted to study the wind-driven circulation of Lake Melville. The first two models examined are the steady-state and the time-dependent homogeneous models. The results indicate that the complex bottom topography forces a complicated circulation pattern which is relatively unaffected by the value of the bottom stress coefficient although the choice of such affects the current speeds directly. For a constant wind of seven meters per second, the vertically averaged horizontal velocity is about ten centimeters per second, suggesting a surface velocity of about thirty to forty centimeters per second. The third and last model is a vertically integrated two-layer model also driven by a constant wind of seven meters per second. The results from this model indicate that baroclinic effects such as near-inertial oscillations and internal waves are important, since the internal wave phenomena associated with stratified lakes dominates their dynamics. To date, no field measurements have been carried out on Lake Melville. The simulations from the Models studied, in particular the two-layer model, suggest that current measurements would be valuable for model calibrations.

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