ABSTRACT
Lakes are often pictured as quiescent water bodies, although they are actually dynamic systems with varying thermal structure and circulation. Lake Geneva, with a surface area of 582 km, average depth of 150 m and volume of 87 km, is the largest freshwater reservoir in Western Europe. This chapter discusses the wind field over Lake Geneva. It describes the numerical modelling tools for the study and proposes large-scale circulations in the Grand Lac considering the dominant winds and seasonality. The chapter also describes current variability and gyre formation in Vidy Bay. It deals with the general circulation patterns within the lake during the period of stratification based on field data of stable isotope compositions of water. In addition, a test of the effectiveness of the different model calculations in predicting the transport of water on the scale of the lake is provided.
