Real-Time Hydraulic and Hydrodynamic Model of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River System
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 8
Abstract
The Huron-Erie Corridor serves as a major waterway in the Great Lakes and is the connecting channel between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The system consists of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River, and serves as a recreational waterway, source of drinking water for Detroit and surrounding cities, as well as the only shipping channel to Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. This paper describes a three-dimensional unsteady model of the combined system and its application to real-time predictions of physical conditions over the corridor. The hydrodynamic model produces nowcasts eight times per day and 48 h forecasts twice a day. Comparisons between model simulations and observed values show average differences of 3 cm for water levels and 12 cm/s for along-channel currents in the St. Clair River (compared to mean current values of 1.7 m/s) for the period of September 2007 to August 2008. Simulations reveal a spatially and temporally variable circulation in Lake St. Clair as well as significant changes in flow rate and distribution through the St. Clair Delta not accounted for in previous models.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank David Holtschlag of the USGS Michigan Water Science Center for his significant contributions to the model presented in this paper. His development of a two-dimensional, steady-state model of the Huron-Erie Corridor served as the building block for the operational model calibration and development. Furthermore, the writers would like to thank Changsheng Chen and the FVCOM team at the University of Massachusetts for their help with model setup. This research was performed while Eric J. Anderson held a National Research Council Research Associateship Award at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is GLERL Publication Number 1542.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 8 • August 2010
Pages: 507 - 518
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 7, 2009
Accepted: Jan 7, 2010
Published online: Jan 9, 2010
Published in print: Aug 2010
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