Internal seiche pumping between sill-separated basins |
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| Authors: | David C Van Senden Dieter M Imboden |
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| Institution: | Lake Research Laboratory , EAWAG/ETH, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland , 6047 |
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| Abstract: | Abstract Despite their close proximity and similar dimensions (～ 200m deep × 10km long × 2km wide) the two eastern basins of Lake Lucerne, Gersauersee and Urnersee, exhibit considerable differences in their internal behaviour, particularly during late winter and spring. The two lakes are separated by a small intermediate basin (～ 120m deep × 4km long × 1km wide) with sills of approximately 90m depth at each end. We report results of a field program conducted over the period February—May, 1988, when observations were obtained from weekly CTD transects and from three thermistor string/current meter moorings deployed for two months, one near each sill and the third at the southern end of Urnersee near Fluelen. During the observation period the stratification, relative surface to bottom density difference, Δρ/ρ, was 12 × 10?6 in Gersauersee and 4 × 10?6 in Urnersee. Following wind events a large amplitude internal seiche in Gersauersee (vertical excursions of ～50m and period ～60 hours) effectively pumped the heavier Gersauersee bottom water onto the intermediate basin and eventually into the hypolimnion of Urnersee. Temperature spectra show a peak at this seiche frequency at all levels at the Gersauer sill but only near the bottom at the sill in Urnersee. Coherence estimates between the bottom temperatures at Gersauer sill and Fluelen showed a significant peak at period 60 hours suggesting transmission of energy from the Gersauersee seiching motion through the weaker stratification of Urnersee to Fluelen. The phase relationships indicate that the wave phase speed decreases as the wave propagates into the region of weaker stratification. Application of a simple two-layer Defant model which includes topographic variations confirms these observations. The estimated volume exchange due to seiche pumping is only a small fraction of the Urnersee hypolimnion. However, the dissipation of energy transferred from the Gersauersee seiche may be an important contribution to mixing in the deeper waters of Urnersee. |
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| Keywords: | Lakes internal wave horizontal stratification density driven exchange two-layer model |
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