Achievement

Markfort, C.D., A.L.S. Perez, J.W. Thill, D.A. Jaster, F. Porté-Agel, and H.G. Stefan. 2010. Wind Sheltering of a Lake by a Tree Canopy or Bluff Topography. Water Resour. Res., 46, W03530.

Abstract: A model is developed to quantify the wind sheltering of a lake by a tree canopy or a bluff. The experiment-based model predicts the wind-sheltering coefficient a priori, without calibration, and is useful for one-dimensional (1-D) lake hydrodynamic and water quality modeling. The model is derived from velocity measurements in a boundary layer wind tunnel, by investigating mean velocity profiles and surface shear stress development downwind of two canopies and a bluff. The wind tunnel experiments are validated with field measurements over an ice-covered lake. Both wind tunnel and field experiments show that reduced surface shear stress extends approximately 50 canopy heights downwind from the transition.