The wind-driven formation of cross-shelf sediment plumes in a large lake.

ABSTRACT: Wind-driven turbidity plumes frequently occur in the western arm of Lake Superior and may represent a significant cross shelf transport mechanism for sediment, nutrient and biota. Here we characterize a plume that formed in late April 2016 using observations from in situ sensors and remote sensing imagery, and estimate the volume of cross shelf transport using both the observations and an idealized analytical model of plume formation. The steady-state, barotropic model is used to determine a relationship between the intensity and duration of a wind event and the volume of water transported from nearshore to offshore during the event. The model transport is the result of nearshore flow in the direction of the wind and a pressure-gradient-driven counter flow in the deeper offshore waters, co

SUBMITTER: McKinney P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8128696 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature