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EFFECT OF AIR STABILITY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIND WAVES ON LAKES 1
Author(s) -
Ragotzkie Robert A.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1962.7.2.0248
Subject(s) - shore , wind wave , arctic , geology , wind stress , wind speed , atmospheric instability , atmosphere (unit) , the arctic , gravity wave , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , meteorology , gravitational wave , geography , physics , astrophysics
Two series of aerial and surface observations of lakes in Canada are presented in which wave formation depended on the stability of the air over the water. In the first set of observations a cold, deep lake remained mirror‐smooth under wind conditions that developed gravity waves 4–6 in. high on nearby warmer, shallow lakes. The second observation is of Dubawnt Lake, a large, cold, arctic lake, where wind waves developed only in the lee of the upwind shore and of islands and disappeared a mile or less downwind. Great stability of the air over the lakes leading to reduced surface stress results from warm air flowing over very cold water.