Studies on water movements and sediments in Southern Lake Michigan : part 1[-3] ... / by John C. Ayers.

SUMMARY

This-report.is the first of a. series which.altogether com —
prise the final report on work done-'under the contract.
The- primary goals of this section were the.determination of
volumes of wa.ter transported across the central sill of Lake
Michigan and the effect of these water.volumes on the flushing
out of the lake's southern basin.
Large volumes of water were found to be crossing-the sill
in the period April through November.- Maximum volume transports
found were 44,000 m3/sec northward and 47,000 m3/sec-southward.
Minimum transports were 5,900 m3/sec northward and 3,900 m3/sec
southward.
Volume transports across the sill are controlled by wind.
Volume transports across the sill are from 10 to 100 times
the inflow via,.rivers, 'and constitute the primary means of
flushing out the southern basin.
Computed flushing times of the southern basin, and computed
solute-accumulations in the southern basin, both indicate that
about 25 years must be taken-as the first approximation of the
flushing time of the southern basin.;-<Wind-induced currentsinvolved in the volume transports
across the sill occur in alternate streaks of northward and
southward current.:. The moaning of the streaked nature of these
currents is not yet known.

17