A coupled bubble plume–reservoir model for hypolimnetic oxygenation

Abstract

A model for a linear bubble plume used for hypolimnetic oxygenation was coupled with a three‐dimensional hydrodynamic model to simulate the complex interaction between bubble plumes and the large‐scale processes of transport and mixing. The coupled model accurately simulated the evolution of dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature fields that occurred during two full‐scale diffuser tests in a water supply reservoir. The prediction of asymmetric circulation cells laterally and longitudinally on both sides of the linear diffuser was due to the uneven reservoir bathymetry. Simulation of diffuser operation resulted in baroclinic pressure gradients, which caused vertical oscillations above the hypolimnion and contributed to distribution of plume detrainment upstream and downstream of the diffuser. On the basis of a first‐order variance analysis, the largest source of uncertainty for both predicted DO and temperature was the model bathymetry, which accounted for about 90% of the overall uncertainty. Because the oxygen addition rate was 4 times the sediment oxygen uptake (SOU) rate, DO predictions were not sensitive to SOU. In addition to bathymetry, the momentum assigned to plume entrainment and detrainment is a significant source of uncertainty in the coupled model structure and appreciably affects the predicted intensity of mixing and lake circulation. For baseline runs, the entrainment and detrainment velocities were assumed to be half of the velocities through the flux face of the grid cells. Additional research on appropriate values of the plume detrainment momentum for the coupled model is required.