Coupling a Regional Climate Model with a 3-D Hydrodynamic Model over the Great Lakes
Pengfei Xue, Michigan Technological University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Houghton, MI, United States, Jeremy S Pal, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, United States and John D Lenters, LimnoTech, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Abstract:
It is recognized that large and deep lakes play a significant role in altering regional climate. An important example is the Laurentian Great Lakes , which are particularly sensitive to climate change. The lake-atmosphere interactions in the region leads to large fluctuations in lake water levels, thermal structure and ice coverage, and impacts drought and flood occurrence and severity; groundwater supply levels; and water quality. Within only a 3-year time span (2012-2014), the Great Lakes experienced some of the warmest (2012) and coldest (2014) years on record, with dramatic changes in water temperature and ice coverage. Advancing our understanding of interactions between the regional climate and hydro- and ice-dynamics of the Great Lakes remains one of the most critical issues for Great Lakes communites. To that end, we developed a coupled 3D climate-lake-ice modeling system over the Great Lakes basin. Results demonstrate great skills of the coupled modeling system in simulating the regional climate and the physical characteristics of the Great Lakes.
