Abstract
Lake Erie is an enclosed, shallow sea with approximate mean dimensions of 60 feet in depth, 240 miles in length, and 40 miles in width. It is located in the region of confluence of the principal winter-time tracks associated with Alberta and Colorado lows, and therefore is exposed to wind action from severe cyclonic storms many of which reach their full intensity while well within range of influence upon the Lake. The associated wind tides are well known and in extreme cases have produced wind set-up in excess of 13 feet difference between Buffalo and Toledo at opposite ends of the longitudinal axis.
In this investigation numerical computations have been made for nine cases of record of extreme wind tide on Lake Erie. The computations are based upon an approximate, two-dimensional form of the Ekman boundary-layer equations, in which the viscous dimension is parameterized by an Ekman number. Effects of gravity, friction (with an eddy viscosity 40 cm2 sec−1) and the earth’s rotation are included.
The prediction equations are amenable to numerical integration by standard methods applicable to the momentum form of the dynamical equations; a pair of conjugate Richardson lattices is used for this purpose. Wind stress was obtained by an interpolation procedure based upon hourly surface-wind observations at six first-order stations located on the periphery of the Lake. A quadratic resistance formula with skin-friction coefficient 3.0 × 10−8 gave good results for computed wind set-up.
Although prediction of resurgences associated with the 14-hr free period was unsatisfactory, the average coefficient of correlation obtained between computed and observed set-up at various stations where hourly lake-level data are available is greater than 0.90. In general, the results of the investigation may be regarded as confirming that a sound basis exists for operational prediction of wind tides on Lake Erie by dynamical methods.
This investigation was supported through funds provided by the U. S. Weather Bureau (Grant WBG-7, Technical Report Number 7, December 1962).
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Platzman, G.W. (1963). The Dynamical Prediction of Wind Tides on Lake Erie. In: The Dynamical Prediction of Wind Tides on Lake Erie. Meteorological Monographs, vol 4. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-940033-54-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-940033-54-9_1
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