Lake Erie Hypoxia Simulations with ELCOM-CAEDYM

This paper presents the simulation of the dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics in the central basin of Lake Erie using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (ELCOM) coupled with an aquatic ecological model (CAEDYM). The objective was to simulate the recurrent hypoxic conditions that occur in the shallow hypolimnion of the central basin of the lake after the onset of stratification. In early spring, oxygen concentrations are relatively high, but by late summer, large areas in the central basin of Lake Erie are effectively hypoxic (andlt;2 mg l-1). This numerical modeling study successfully reproduced horizontal variability and vertical decay of dissolved oxygen during 1994. The magnitude of oxygen depletion has been observed to vary inter-annually depending on water temperature and the thickness of the hypolimnion, which will be investigated further with ELCOM -CAEDYM simulations for other years.