Exchange between littoral and pelagic waters in a stratified lake due to wind-induced motions: Lake Kinneret, Israel

We used field data and three-dimensional numerical simulations to investigate the exchange processes between the lake boundaries (littoral) and lake interior (pelagic) due to wind-induced motions in Lake Kinneret, Israel. The field data showed large-scale metalimnion oscillations with amplitudes up to 10 m in response to westerly diurnal winds, the existence of a well-defined turbidity intrusion into the metalimnion of the lake and a benthic boundary layer (BBL). The observed vertical and horizontal movements of the turbidity were explained by the vertical and horizontal advection associated with basin-scale wave motions and a residual circulation set up by the basin-scale motions and the wind field. The horizontal advective transport in the metalimnion, associated with the velocities induced by the basin-scale mode-two Poincare wave, provided the primary control for the exchange between the lake boundaries and lake interior on daily time scales. Detailed comparison of simulation results with both temperature and velocity profiles revealed excellent agreement for time scales from hours to days. The validated numerical model was used to extract the residual motions that provided the secondary exchange flows, in the various regions of the lake on time scales from days to weeks. The residual motion in the surface layer consisted of a combination of an anticlockwise gyre in the western half of the lake and a weak clockwise gyre along the eastern boundary that were forced by the curl of the wind field. In the metalimnion, residual motions were predominantly forced by the basin-scale internal wave motions and an anticlockwise gyre established itself throughout the whole basin. Lastly in the BBL, residual motions consisted of an anticlockwise gyre, but the geographic distribution was patchy. Together these results provide new insight into a proper characterization of the processes underlying the flux paths of water and particles between the lake boundaries and lake interior.