Abstract
A finite difference inverse method was applied to time‐dependent two‐dimensional tracer fields from a long narrow water supply reservoir to obtain time‐averaged estimates of horizontal and vertical velocities and vertical eddy diffusivities. By comparison to direct measurements, the inverse method successfully resolved the complex flow field observed in the lake due to the combined action of basin‐scale internal wave oscillations and wind‐driven surface layer currents. To avoid aliasing in the method, the time interval between the transects had to be long enough for the advective/diffusive processes to induce measurable changes in tracer distributions (order of hours), but smaller than the natural timescales of variability of the hydrodynamic processes active in the lake (order of days). To resolve flows observed during the intensive field experiment in Lake Burragorang, the pairs of transects had to be contained within a half‐period of the internal seiche (i.e., 48 h), the best results obtained from inversions with Δtinv ∼ 22–28 h.
Published Version
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