Far Field Circulation Velocities in Shallow Lakes

A three-dimensional model is developed for the prediction of steady-state circulation induced by the discharges, wind stresses, and horizontal temperature gradients in the far field regions of shallow lakes. For the case of lakes having rectangular geometries and uniform depth explicit analytical solutions are presented for the velocity distribution. The results of the analysis show that a negative temperature gradient along the lake in a given direction gives rise to a flow in the same direction at the upper layer of the lake and to a reverse flow at the lower layer. The circulations induced by horizontal temperature gradients may be as important as those generated by wind stresses.