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Wave climatology of Lake Erie based on an unstructured-grid wave model

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Abstract

Hindcast of wave dynamics in Lake Erie during 2002 to 2012 was conducted using a state-of-art finite-volume coastal ocean surface wave model (FVCOM-SWAVE). After model calibration, the surface gravity wave dynamics were examined from the aspects of wave climate and seasonality, inter-basin wave interactions, as well as its potential susceptibility to regional climate change. Compared to the Central and Eastern Basins, the Western Basin has relatively gentle wave climate. The Western Basin and the nearshore areas are most susceptible to the wave-induced bottom orbital oscillations on the seasonal mean scale, and the offshore Central Basin is sensitive to them as well during episodic events. Profound seasonality was found in both mean and extreme wave dynamics during ice-free cycles. Mean significant wave height (SWH) is highest during fall with more occurrences of extreme events (SWH > 3.1 m) and is lowest during summer, which is controlled by wind speed and direction collectively. Besides, swells generated in the Central and Eastern Basins could interact with each other under various wind directions, whereas wave generated in the Central Basin could hardly propagate into the Western Basin. In addition, the regression analysis of surrounding meteorological stations indicates increasing SWH in the Western Basin and decreasing SWH in the Eastern Basin.

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Acknowledgments

This project is funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Research was carried on NSF Stampede (Support to M. Xia) and Yellowstone (Support to Q. Niu). Research Data is archived at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Computational and Information Systems Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado. Surface forcing data was provided by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL), NOAA. Observations of wave characteristics were obtained from the IFYLE, GLERL, NOAA, the National Data Buoy Center, NOAA, and Environmental Canada.

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  1. Department of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, 21853, USA

    Qianru Niu & Meng Xia

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  1. Qianru Niu
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  2. Meng Xia
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Correspondence to Meng Xia.

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Responsible Editor: Tal Ezer

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Niu, Q., Xia, M. Wave climatology of Lake Erie based on an unstructured-grid wave model. Ocean Dynamics 66, 1271–1284 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-016-0982-7

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