How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2008 Tracking the Surface Flow in Lake Champlain
Michael J. McCormick, Thomas O. Manley, Dmitry Beletsky, Andrew J. Foley, Gary L. Fahnenstiel
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Understanding the hydrodynamics of Lake Champlain is a basic requirement for developing forecasting tools to address the lake's environmental issues. In 2003 through 2005, surface drifting buoys were used to help characterize the circulation of the main body and northeast region (Inland Sea) of the lake. Progressive vector diagrams of over-lake winds when compared to drifter trajectories suggest the presence of gyre-like circulation patterns. Drifter statistics suggest average current speeds of 10 cm s−1 and were predominantly northward ( V) due to northerly-directed winds and lake geometry. Single-particle eddy diffusivities on the order of 106 cm2 s−1 were calculated which is consistent with results from the Great Lakes and in some oceanic regions. However, the Lagrangian length and time scales, a measure of flow decorrelation scales, were in general smaller than seen in the Great Lakes, which is a natural consequence of the smaller basin size of Lake Champlain relative to the Great Lakes.

Michael J. McCormick, Thomas O. Manley, Dmitry Beletsky, Andrew J. Foley, and Gary L. Fahnenstiel "Tracking the Surface Flow in Lake Champlain," Journal of Great Lakes Research 34(4), 721-730, (1 December 2008). https://doi.org/10.3394/0380-1330-34.4.721
Received: 31 January 2008; Accepted: 5 August 2008; Published: 1 December 2008
JOURNAL ARTICLE
10 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Lagrangian statistics
Lake Champlain
Surface drifters
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top