| This thesis is an investigation on the exchange flow through the Burlington Ship Canal, which connects Hamilton Harbour with Lake Ontario. During the summer months, heavily polluted Hamilton Harbour water flows through the canal into the lake, whereas fresh and oxygenated Lake Ontario water flows into the harbour. This exchange of the two water masses has important implications for harbour water quality. This thesis is probably the first modelling investigation of two-layer hydraulic exchange flow, which allows for the effects of both friction and time-dependent barotropic forcing at multiple frequencies. In the Burlington Ship Canal application we obtain predictions of exchange volume fluxes under a range of prevailing forcing conditions that are derived from field observations. Model results compare well with experimental and field data. |
