A model of sediment resuspension and transport dynamics in southern Lake Michigan

Abstract

Abstract. A quasi-three-dimensional suspended sediment transport model was developed and generalized to include combined wave-current effects to study bottom sediment resuspension and transport in southern Lake Michigan. The results from a threedimensional circulation model and a wind wave model were used as input to the sediment transport model. Two effects of nonlinear wave-current interactions were considered in the sediment transport model: the changes in turbulence intensity due to waves and the enhancement of induced bottom shear stresses. Empirical formulations of sediment entrainment and resuspension processes were established and parameterized by laboratory data and field studies in the lake. In this preliminary application of the model to Lake Michigan, only a single grain size is used to characterize the sedimentary material, and the bottom of the lake is treated as an unlimited sediment source. The model results were compared with measured suspended sediment concentrations at two stations and several municipal water intake turbidity measurements in southern Lake Michigan during November-December 1994. The model was able to reproduce the general patterns of high-turbidity events in the lake. A model simulation for the entire 1994-1995 two-year period gave a reasonable description of sediment erosion/deposition in the lake, and the modeled settling mass fluxes were consistent with sediment trap data. The mechanisms of sediment resuspension and transport in southern Lake Michigan are discussed. To improve the model, sediment classifications, spatial bottom sediment distribution, sediment source function, and tributary sediment discharge should be considered.

Particle Transport, Nutrient Cycling, and Algal Community Structure Associated with a Major Winter-Spring Sediment Resuspension Event in Southern Lake Michigan

“…Processes that may contribute to cross-shore flow are: flow reversals during changes in wind forcing, vorticity waves, and topographic steering (Lou et al 2000). The observations support the hypothesis that the 20 March storm was responsible for the rapid initiation of the plume.…”

“…Because the predominant winds are from the west, circulation in the southernmost part of the southern basin is more frequently counterclockwise (cyclonic) than clockwise. Because of the orientation of Lake Michigan, northerly winds generate the largest waves (in the southern basin), and therefore the greatest energy available for resuspension of nearshore sedimentary material, and would also contribute to southward transport very near the shore in the southwestern part of the lake (Lou et al 2000).…”

Investigating Suspended-Sediment Transport in a Shallow Lake Using a Three-Dimensional Model

“…Sediment transport models have b een broadly developed and applied to investigate sediment dynamics in lakes including a one-dimensional model [17][18][19], a vertical two-dimensional model [20,21], a horizontal two-dimensional model [22][23][24][25][26], and quasi-three-dimensional [27] and three-dimensional models [28][29][30][31][32]. The erosion and resuspension of bottom sediment from the…”

Three‐dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling to test the sediment focusing hypothesis in upland lakes

“…At a Holocene time scale, the focus of sedimentation may change as basin infilling alters the water circulation (e.g., Davis and Ford 1982;Blais and Kalff 1995). Although wind-induced currents (Lou et al 2000) and seiching (Gloor et al 1994) are known to influence foci of sedimentation within large lakes, few studies have investigated their efficacy and effect on the preservation potential of deeper water sediment sequences in small lakes. An exception is Odgaard (1993) who used 36 sediment cores to determine the thickness of Holocene sediments in small Danish lake.…”