A numerical model for the winter circulation in Lake Trichonis, Greece

Progress in the understanding and eventual management of lakes depends upon iterative interactions between model-guided measurements and measurement-tested model development. A research example of this progress can be demonstrated by the measurement campaigns that were mounted in Lake Trichonis, in central Greece. Numerical simulations and analytical theories have been tested against currents, surface seiche and temperatures. Simultaneous water gauges, current meters, anemometric stations, thermometers, sediment and water samplers were used for the verification of the model. The agreement between the theoretically predicted and experimentally determined data was satisfactory for most of the verifications. The most significant error was due to atmospheric pressure. The computed surface seiche showed excellent agreement with the observations, even in spectral analysis. The computed currents showed circulation patterns very similar to those measured in the field. The computed temperature distributions throughout the lake were not in good agreement because of incoming water from the bottom.