Numerical models of wind driven circulation in Lake Melville, Labrador

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1985. Physics Bibliography: leaves 127-134. 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 m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bhogal, Amritpal Singh
Other Authors: Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Physics
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 1984
Subjects:
Online Access:http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/226528
Description
Summary:Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1985. Physics Bibliography: leaves 127-134. 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.