Large lake hydrodynamics and mixing

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The Great Lakes contain 20% of the world's fresh surface water. The water is used for drinking, waste disposal, transportation, recreation, agriculture, fisheries, power generation and industry by a population of 40 million people. Excessive demands on this resource, have resulted in 43 Areas of Concern where water quality is severely compromised and Remedial Action Plans have been implemented (>$1 billion since 1989). A fundamental aspect of lake remediation and management is a need to understand the motion of the water acting to distribute nutrients and oxygen, invasive species, fish larvae, and transport of contaminants and sediments. The complexity of these dynamics is difficult to comprehend and model computationally, because a vast number of coupled processes are acting over scales ranging from >100s of km (mean circulation) to <1 cm (turbulence), and simplifying strategies must be adopted. Decades of research have led to an understanding of the large-scale circulation patterns occurring in large lakes. However, significant knowledge gaps remain: a) How, when and where is turbulent mixing generated from the mean flow in large lakes? b) How does turbulent mixing lead to mass transport through a large lake basin? c) When and where will there be re-suspension of potentially contaminated sediments in large lakes? d) Can we accurately reproduce the mixing/transport processes with computational lake management models? The objective of this research program is to produce the knowledge, highly qualified graduates, and modeling tools that will help answer these questions and better manage our fresh water resources and those of other large lake regions worldwide. Through this research program, 4 PhD and 5 Masters students will be trained in the engineering and professional skills needed by Canada's consulting industry and government agencies.