High-Frequency Water Level Fluctuations in Lake Michigan
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 1
Abstract
During certain meteorological events, water level oscillations up to 1.5 m with periods of less than 2 h have been observed in the Great Lakes. The squall line events of 7–11 March 1998, 29 May–2 June 1998, and 8–12 November 1998 in Lake Michigan, are analyzed by spectral and analytical methods. Dominant periods of less than 2 h are identified in the spectra of water level fluctuations and coherencies among the spectral peaks of water levels of different station pairs are calculated to determine whether the oscillations are localized or basin wide. Explicit numerical calculations of normal mode periods and structures using a Lanczos procedure show that the dominant periods in the observed data are consistent with the structures and periods of some of the calculated modes. The March 1998 and the November 1998 episodes show higher surges with a gradual rise of water level, while the episode of May 1998 shows an abrupt rise in the water level at Calumet Harbor and about ten times higher spectral signature than the former two. Many of the high-frequency modes have large amplitude at or near Calumet Harbor and the periods are close to the periods of edge waves that would be generated by a squall line similar to the May 1998 squall line. The trapping of energy and localized higher modes in a water body can work together to excite edge waves and localized seiches causing abrupt water level fluctuations.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Defant, A. (1961). Physical oceanography, Pergamon, New York, Vol. 2, 598.
Donn, W. L., and Ewing, M.(1956). “Stokes edge waves in Lake Michigan.” Science, 124(3234), 1238–1242.
Fee, E. J. (1969). “Digital computer programs for spectral analysis of time series.” Special Rep. No. 6, Center for Great Lakes Studies, Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wis., p. 35.
Freeman, N. G., Hamblin, P. F., and Murty, T. S. (1974). “Helmholtz resonance in harbors of the Great Lakes.” Proc., 17th Conf. Great Lakes Research, Intl. Association of Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 399–411.
Lanczos, C.(1950). “An iteration method for the solution of the eigenvalue problem of linear differential and integral operators.” J. Res. Natl. Bur. Stand., 45, 255–282.
Minato, S.(1998). “Storm surge simulation using POM and a revisitation of dynamics of sea surface elevation short term variation.” Pap. Meteorol. Geophys.,48(3), 79–88.
Mortimer, C. H. (1965). “Spectra of long surface waves and tides in Lake Michigan and at Green Bay, Wisconsin.” Publication No. 13, Great Lakes Research Division, The University of Michigan, 304–325.
Mortimer, C. H., and Fee, E. J.(1976). “Free surface oscillations and tides of Lakes Michigan and Superior.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, A(281), 1–61.
Munk, W. H., and Macdonald, G. J. F. (1960). “The rotation of the Earth: A geophysical discussion.” Cambridge Monogr. Mech. Appl. Math., Cambridge University Press, New York, 323.
Murty, T. S., and Freeman, N. G. (1973). “Applications of the concepts of edge waves and numerical modelling to storm surge studies on Lake Huron.” Proc., 16th Conf. Great Lakes Research, Intl. Association of Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 533–548.
Platzman, G. W.(1958). “A numerical computation of the surge of 26 June 1954 on Lake Michigan.” Geophysica,5(6), 407–438.
Rao, D. B., Mortimer, C. H., and Schwab, D. J.(1976). “Surface normal modes of Lake Michigan: Calculations compared with spectra of observed water level fluctuations.” J. Phys. Oceanogr., 6(4), 575–588.
Rao, D. B., and Schwab, D. J.(1976). “Two-dimensional normal modes in arbitrary enclosed basins on a rotating earth: Application to lakes Ontario and Superior.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, A(281), 63–96.
Schwab, D. J. (1980). “The free oscillations of Lake St. Clair—An application of Lanczos procedure.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Memo No. ERL-GLERL-32, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 12.
Schwab, D. J., and Rao, D. B.(1977). “Gravitational oscillations of Lake Huron, Saginaw Bay, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel.” J. Geophys. Res., 15(82), 2105–2116.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 17, 2002
Accepted: Jul 29, 2002
Published online: Dec 15, 2003
Published in print: Jan 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.