Abstract
Wind exposure is a key physical driver of coastal systems in aquatic environments influencing circulation and wave dynamics. A measure of wind exposure is fetch, the distance over which wind can travel across open water. In large lake systems, such as the Laurentian Great Lakes, estimating fetch has proven to be difficult due to their vast size and complex topobathymetry. Here we describe the development of two spatially discrete indicators of exposure to provide a more accurate indicator of the influence of wind exposure in the nearshore of the Laurentian Great Lakes. We summarized wind data from offshore buoys and used existing tools to calculate effective fetch and a relative exposure index (effective fetch scaled by mean wind speed) at a 30-m grid cell resolution. We validated these models by comparing our exposure maps to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wave Information Studies models and found general agreement. These exposure maps are available for public download for the years 2004–2014.
Highlights
Background & SummaryWind exposure is a key physical driver of coastal systems in marine[1], large lake[2], and inland lake[3] environments and is an important indicator of the availability and type of coastal habitat[4]
Wind exposure is commonly measured as fetch, the distance over which wind can travel across open water
In large lake systems with variable wind patterns and complex topobathymetry, the ability to incorporate the variability of wind direction and velocity into one index would provide for a more specific approach to quantifying relative wind exposure of a site
Summary
Wind exposure is a key physical driver of coastal systems in marine[1], large lake[2], and inland lake[3] environments and is an important indicator of the availability and type of coastal habitat[4]. The Great Lakes contain over 29,000 islands[18], many large embayments (e.g., Green Bay, Grand Traverse Bay, Saginaw Bay, the North Channel, Georgian Bay, and the Bay of Quinte), and shoreline types ranging from exposed bedrock to marshy flats to sand dunes[19] This is further complicated by dynamic wind patterns that vary on decadal, annual, seasonal, and individual storm event temporal scales[20]. The simplest approaches calculate direct fetch from lake dimensions by using maximum length, a combination of length and width, or lake surface area[21] commonly resulting in a measurement of the distance across water in the dominant wind direction This simple measure of fetch can be improved by systematically incorporating the variability of wind patterns. These exposure maps are available for public download for the years 2004–2014
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
