Dynamic response to mountain breeze circulation in Alchichica, a crater lake in Mexico

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the dynamic response to mountain breeze circulation in Alchichica, a deep crater lake in Mexico. A numerical model was used to simulate integrated drift currents based on wind data sampled at l-h intervals. The results are compared with those measured by an ADCP. Measurements taken with a level recorder demonstrate that the mountain breeze is coordinated with diurnal level inclinations up to 11 cm and that it simulates free seiches with a period of 2.7 and 2.1 min with amplitudes equal to 7 mm and 4 mm. Measurements carried out with a SBE-19 profiler show that in the second half of day the breeze blowing from the north causes a sinking of the thermocline by 3 meters in the southern part of the lake. It appears that periodic inclinations of the thermocline serve as the main mechanism in the generation of internal waves in Lake Alchichica. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.