Which statement concerning storm surges on...

🔍 Key Concepts

• Storm surge mechanics on enclosed waters like the Great Lakes (wind setup and barometric pressure effects) • Relationship between wind direction and the long axis of a lake and how that affects water piling up at one end • Difference between a storm surge and a seiche (standing wave after the forcing stops)

💭 Think About

• Think about how wind blowing steadily over a long distance of water (long fetch) will move water: along the length of the lake or across its width? Which gives the largest level difference between ends? • Ask yourself: does a seiche usually develop when the forcing (wind) stops suddenly or when it dies out very slowly? How would that affect the water’s ability to oscillate back and forth? • Consider whether a storm surge on a long, narrow lake would change the level at only one end, or if raising it at one end implies a change somewhere else in the basin.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify that storm surge is primarily caused by strong, persistent winds, with barometric pressure changes as an additional factor on water level. • Check whether a seiche is defined as a free oscillation that often occurs after a rapid change in wind or pressure, not during a slowly changing condition. • Confirm that when water is piled up at one end of a long lake, the water level at the opposite end must change in the opposite sense (lower) to conserve volume, not stay unchanged.

Which statement concerning storm surges on the Great Lakes is TRUE?

The greatest water level difference occurs when the wind is blowing perpendicular to longitudinal axis of the lake

Are a result of strong winds and sharp change in barometric pressure

If the wind subsides gradually, a seiche effect will occur.

They cause rapid differences in levels at one end of the lake only

🔍 Key Concepts

💭 Think About

✅ Before You Answer