Currents and related problems at Metropolitan Beach, Lake St. Clair / John C. Ayers.

change in the circulation of the main basin under winds from the
northeast, east, southwest, and northwest.
Northeast winds blow downstream-along Middle Channel, South
Channel, and the Cutoff. From the current pattern in the lake's
main basin alone it would appear that the Cutoff Channel was
only dividing the outflow that previously would all have emerged
through South Channel, but the fact that the Clinton River discharge now enters Anchor Bay would argue for some reduction of
outflow through North Channel.
East winds blow downstream along North Channel and along an
inner part of South Channel, with wind pressure augmenting outflow
in both.:The Cutoff Channel, again, appears-to only divide into
two parts what would have originally been- the outflow of- South:
Channel.
Southwest wind puts a back-pressure onto the surfaces of the
Cutoff, South Channel, and Middle Channel. The opening of the
Cutoff appears to have provided some critical addition of crosssectional area for flow into the main basin, for North Channel
now reverses at least its surface flow (under pressure of this
wind on the surface of Anchor Bay) where previously it did not.
The total effect under this wind appears to be a net diminution
of outflow through North Channel with diversion of the flow difference to the (probably) subsurface levels of the Cutoff Channel.
Northwest winds blow diagonally across the mouths of North,
Middle, South, and the Cutoff Channels. Again, the Cutoff
Channel appears only to divide the original- South Channel flow.
The opening of the Cutoff Channel allows the south wind to
put a more-effective back-pressure onto the lower reach of the

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