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Circulation patterns in the Fox Chain of lakes in Illinois
Author(s) -
Bhowmik Nani G.,
Stall John B.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr014i004p00633
Subject(s) - inflow , circulation (fluid dynamics) , bay , wind speed , environmental science , current (fluid) , flow (mathematics) , geology , climatology , hydrology (agriculture) , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , mechanics , physics , geotechnical engineering
Extensive circulation data were collected at seven locations on five different occasions during 1975 in the Fox Chain of Lakes in Illinois. In areas of negligible inflow the circulation patterns in all of the lakes were governed by the wind. Even in areas of significant inflow the wind dominated the movement of water as soon as diffusion of the inflow jets reduced the flow velocity. Generally, the surface water moved with the wind, and there was some return flow below certain depths. Measured wind‐generated current profiles in the lakes indicated that they generally follow a logarithmic distribution. The wind factor defined as the ratio of surface water velocity to wind velocity varied from 2 to 7%. Theoretical circulation patterns in Pistakee Bay for a few selected wind conditions were computed by a finite element method. Computer plots were developed, and the theoretical circulation patterns were compared with the measured circulation patterns. Correlation between the theoretical and measured circulation patterns was found to be good.