Mixing and Waves in Coastal and Estuarine Flows

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North America's population is increasingly moving toward the coasts, where our interaction with coastal waters is important through travel, defence, industry, and the impact of extreme environmental events. As the dynamics of the ocean change, understanding and managing this interaction is critical, particularly in Canada, where coasts, channels, and Great Lakes are ubiquitous. The long term goals of this research program are to (i) improve the understanding of stratified flows in estuaries, peripheral channels, and lakes and (ii) develop models to measure, and predict changes in, flow characteristics including internal wave dynamics, turbulence, and mixing. Flow characteristics, such as wave dynamics, turbulence, and mixing, will be considered, especially in internal hydraulic jumps and hydraulically controlled flows. To achieve these goals, the following short term objectives are proposed: (1) Parameterize the dependence of mixing on characteristics such as cross-channel topography and Earth's rotation, in internal hydraulic jumps; (2) Identify the locations and mechanisms of mixing in Hood Canal and Lake Erie, where the distribution of water properties has a significant effect on the ecosystem, by conducting simulations and comparing them to observations; (3) Determine the conditions under which internal hydraulic jumps cause sediment transport and adapt numerical models to simulate transport in 3D non-hydrostatic flows. Through the many engineering systems that interact with coastal flows, the results will then be applied to benefit both Canadian society and the environment. This research will be conducted using numerical simulation and analytical approaches, with comparisons made to observational and experimental data when possible. Flows will be simulated on Canada's computing cluster, using freely available Navier-Stokes solvers. Simulation results will be used to develop mixing parametrizations in non-hydrostatic stratified flow phenomena such as internal hydraulic jumps. An existing code such as Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) will be extended to solve non-hydrostatic flows and used to determine how hydraulic jumps transport sediment. This work will further the current knowledge of fundamental non-hydrostatic, stratified fluid dynamics processes including internal waves, hydraulic jumps, and turbulence. More realistic flows will also be studied, with a focus on Canadian coasts. Once a better understanding of the flow physics is developed, I will apply the knowledge to improving tidal energy extraction, ecology, and societal impacts of climate change, all of which have a significant impact on Canadian society. Students involved in the research will develop skills that are applicable to industry in risk assessment of coastal properties, in energy applications such as tidal energy extraction, and to the oil gas industry through an understanding of flow conditions in areas of off-shore drilling.