Significant Findings

The hydrodynamic model of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, was used to run 384 realizations of a numerical tracer experiment in order to understand the relative effects of wind, lake elevation, and Williamson River inflow on flow and transport (the movement of water and passively transported constituents) through the Williamson River Delta. Significant findings from this study include:


• The replacement rate of water increased in Tulana and Goose Bay with increasing lake elevation, Williamson River inflow, and wind speed. 

• The fraction of Williamson River inflow passing through either side of the Delta increased with lake elevation and Williamson River inflow. 

• The partial replacement rate of water in Goose Bay with water from the Williamson River increased with wind speed. 

• The partial replacement rate of water in Tulana with water from the Williamson River decreased with wind speed. 

• Strong wind forcing at the water surface caused more of the Williamson River inflow to pass through Goose Bay than through Tulana. 

• Westerly to northwesterly winds result in more of the Williamson River inflow passing through the Goose Bay side of the Delta than through the Tulana side.

• Regression models developed from the tracer experiments can be used to quantify the dependencies between transport and the independent variables to obtain rough estimates of useful quantities such as residence time and steady-state solute concentrations. 


First posted March 29, 2012