GLIN==> Ohio Sea Grant Researcher Creates New Lake Erie Model

Ohio Sea Grant Researcher Creates New Lake Erie Model

June 15, 2009

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

COLUMBUS, OH - A new model of Lake Erie being developed by Ohio Sea Grant
researcher Dr. Ethan Kubatko, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science at Ohio State University,
may make it possible to one day predict water levels, water velocities, and
other physical changes in the lake with greater accuracy. 

 

Previous computer-based models used a structured grid made of equally sized
squares that were so large-5 kilometers, or approximately the size of 55
football fields-they simply couldn't accurately report shoreline details.
Kubatko's finite element grid employs a series of triangles that can vary in
shape and size, effectively hugging the coast. Having higher resolution
triangles as small as half a football field at the shore and larger ones in
the deep water allows for more exact results.

 

"As you approach the coast, you start to encounter things like bays, inlets,
man-made channels, and small tributaries, the geometry of which simply can't
be represented using elements that are as big as kilometers," Kubatko
explains. "Smaller triangles also allow us to report more detailed flow
patterns near the shore. Those currents are different than the middle of the
lake, where the water flows more freely."

 

Kubatko started with the shoreline data and the topography of the lake
bottom, each presented as a series of dots that must be connected by hand
before the grid is then laid horizontally over the surface. Each corner of a
grid triangle has a depth value attached to it, and the computer estimates
the values of all the points in the middle and the way water behaves,
whether it's sloshing back and forth or raising and lowering. 

 

The resulting map is a colorful illustration of Lake Erie, but there is
still more work to be done. The next step is to take existing data from a
small part of the lake, likely the Maumee Bay, and perform simulations to
verify that the model is accurate. Such "reality checks" will allow Kubatko
to compare data points and make adjustments if necessary, which should
ultimately lead to a well-honed representation.

 

"The mapping of the lake is really the first component we need to predict
not only large-scale water circulation patterns, but also to perform
smaller, region-scale studies or even track the flow of pollutants in Lake
Erie," Kubatko says.

 

To read more about this Ohio Sea Grant-funded research, visit
http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/twineline/v31i2.pdf

 

The Ohio State University's Ohio Sea Grant program is part of NOAA Sea
Grant, a network of 30 Sea Grant programs dedicated to the protection and
sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. For information on Ohio
Sea Grant and Stone Lab, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu
<http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/> .

###

Contact: 

Dr. Ethan Kubatko, Assistant Professor, Ohio State University,
kubatko.3 at osu.edu

 

 

Stacy Brannan

Associate Editor

Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory

1314 Kinnear Road

Columbus, OH 43212

614.247.7109

brannan.16 at osu.edu

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20090615/cdfa3a33/attachment.html