EESD03H3

Physical Limnology

This course will introduce the physical processes that control mixing and transport in lakes. Understanding many environmental issues in the millions of lakes in Canada requires a deeper understanding of the role of wind driven currents in thermally stratified water bodies. The emphasis will be on a practical understanding of different physical limnological processes as they relate to government mandates on drinking water quality and the preservation of fish habitat. Students will learn to use the basic equations that model these processes and understand how these equations are used in water quality models. Students will also be introduced to field measurement techniques and learn to compare field data with model data. Among the subjects to be discussed are the dispersion of pollutants in lakes, the physical controls on lake hypoxia and the role of thermal stratification in setting fish habitat, mixing in stratified estuaries and the dynamics of the seasonal thermocline. This course is jointly offered with graduate course EES1120H3.