Numerical Modeling of the Effect of Inflow Water Mineralization in the Dynamics of the Autumnal Thermal Bar in Kamloops Lake

Abstract

The results of numerical modeling of hydrodynamic processes that occur during the period of existence of an autumnal thermal bar in Kamloops Lake, Canada are presented. These results were obtained using a nonhydrostatic 2.5D model in the Boussinesq approximation with allowance for the diurnal variability of radiative and turbulent heat fluxes at the surface of the lake. A series of numerical experiments with various values of water mineralization in the Thompson River have been performed. The calculations show that the mineralization of inflow river waters has a significant effect on the dynamics of horizontal movements of the thermal front and on the pattern of circulation flows induced by the thermal bar during the period of lake cooling.