Abstract

The momentum and kinetic turbulent energy carried by the wind to a stratified lake lead to basin-scale motions, which provide a major driving force for vertical and horizontal mixing. A three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model was applied to Lake Tahoe, located between California and Nevada, USA, to simulate the dominant basin-scale internal waves in the deep lake. The results demonstrated that the model well represents the temporal and vertical variations of water temperature that allows the internal waves to be energized correctly at the basin scale. Both the model and thermistor chain (TC) data identified the presence of Kelvin modes and Poincare mode internal waves. The lake was weakly stratified during the study period, and produced large amplitude (up to 60 m) of internal oscillations after several wind events and partial upwelling near the southwestern lake. The partial upwelling and followed coastal jets could be an important feature of basin-scale internal waves because they can cause re-suspension and horizontal transport of fine particles from nearshore to offshore. The internal wave dynamics can be also associated with the distributions of water quality variables such as dissolved oxygen and nutrients in the lake. Thus, the basin-scale internal waves and horizontal circulation processes need to be accurately modeled for the correct simulation of the dissolved and particulate contaminants, and biogeochemical processes in the lake.

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