Research papersSurface river plume in a large lake under wind forcing: Observations and laboratory experiments

•The field data reveals the buoyant plume associated with river inflow in large lake.•The observed plume belongs to the category of 'small-scale' and 'surface-advected'.•The alongshore wind affects plume's vertical mixing and horizontal propagation.•Richardson and Froude numbers are key parameters defining plume's specific features.

Observations of a small riverine plume (Grand River, ON) in the nearshore zones of Lake Erie were analyzed to describe its spatial variability and its thickness under different wind forcing conditions during late spring of 2012. Observational results reveal a well-marked frontal region in the vicinity of the river mouth, causing the plume to discharge into the lake in the surface layers (positive buoyant). Wind driven alongshore currents at the mid-depth had speeds of 2-9 cm/s, in comparison to those in the cross-shore 3-6 cm/s, which transported the plume along the shore during the measurement period. Series of laboratory experiments were conducted to obtain the propagation speed (U) of the buoyant plume in terms of buoyancy anomaly (Ba), Richardson number (Ri), dimensionless time (t′), and aspect ratio (A). Based on our experiments, we developed two non-dimensional relationships describing the speed of propagation (U) as U/Ba1/2 = 8 Ri−1/2t′1/3A and the plume thickness (h) as h/H = 0.8 Ri−1/4t′1/2A in the water depth (H), which are in agreement with field observations.