3D numerical modeling of wind-driven flow in the high salinity Aibi Lake

According to the hydrodynamic characteristics of high salinity lake,a three-dimensional (3D)hydrodynamic numerical model is designed to simulate the dynamic in Aibi Lake which is a high salinity lake in northwest China.Selecting typical wind fields,we apply this model to simulate the formation process of wind driven flow and 3D spatial distribution characteristics of hydrodynamic parameters.The study result shows that the formation process of wind driven flow can be divided into three stages:The flow direction is consistent with wind direction,the flow direction deviates from the wind direction in the transitional stage and the current ultimately forms a circulation stable stage.When the flow field is on steady state,the flow direction in most of the waters are in consistent with the wind direction while there are several small scale circulations in central.The bottom current in central is opposite to the surface one with a compensation current character.Overall,the horizontal velocity from the surface to the bottom is decreasing.The inshore velocity is greater than the central one.It shows that the distribution characteristics of hydro-dynamic parameters in high salinity lake are similar to that of fresh water.Increased water salinity has no effect on the structure of lake circulation.