Transverse upwelling in a long narrow lake,with applications to Babine Lake and Lake Michigan

Abstract

The wind generation of transverse thermocline motions in an infinitely long two‐layer channel is studied theoretically. Winds both along and across the channel are considered. Horizontal momentum transfer is parameterized by a constant coefficient of eddy viscosity. For a channel narrow compared with its internal Rossby radius of deformation, the transverse motions are uni‐modal and generated most efficiently by long‐shore winds. Theoretical results in this narrow channel limit agree well with observations made at Babine Lake, British Columbia. For a channel wide compared with its Rossby radius, the response is multi‐modal, especially for cross‐channel winds. For a model Lake Michigan, computed interfacial displacements due to a steady wind either across or along the channel are small compared with the observed displacements. However, a semi‐diurnal wind (in either direction) is in near resonance with the seventh transverse mode. Thus multi‐modal displacements as large as those observed could possibly be generated by semi‐diurnal winds across or along the channel.