Classes taught in 2010


EESC33
Field course Next taught Aug, 15-27, 2010

co-taught with
EEB 410H1 Lake Ecosystem Dynamics Visit http://biome.utoronto.ca/field_courses/lake%20ecosystems.htm for more information.

A two-week summer field course offered at the Harkness Fisheries Research Lab in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Students will learn how to collect, analyze and interpret a series of physical, chemical and biological parameters. We will spend a lot of time on boats and in the water collecting samples, in the lab processing these samples and on computers analysing and integrating the data. Field and laboratory exercises will demonstrate how interactions between physical, chemical and biological parameters are crucial in understanding lake ecosystems. Emphasis will be put on how physical processes (e.g., thermal structure of the lake, surface and internal waves, currents) affect the distribution of organisms (algae, invertebrates, fish) and biological processes in lakes. Students will gather class data and work together to complete a class project. Students will also be responsible for completing an independent project based on field/laboratory work. (Offered in alternate years)

Credit: 0.5 credit Limited to 20 students

Students   boat house  lab 

EESC18 The Great Lakes: an introduction to physical limnology Taught in fall 2007, 2009, 2011

North America is endowed with eight of the twelve largest fresh-water lakes in the world. The hydrodynamics and hydraulics of the Canadian Great Lakes are used as examples from large lacustrine systems. Fundamental concepts in physical limnology are related to features found in the Great Lakes. Topics include: classification and origin of lakes, temperature structure, seasonal circulation, heat budgets, Langmuir circulation, seiches, waves and water levels. Morphological forms and morphodynamical behaviour as a result of sediment transport process are examined particularly with respect to coastal processes.

EESC19 -Marine Systems  Taught in fall 2008, 2010

The world's oceans constitute more than 70% of the earth's surface environments. This course will introduce students to the dynamics of ocean environments, ranging from the deep ocean basins to marginal seas to the coastal ocean. The large-scale water circulation is examined from an observationally based water mass analysis and from a theoretical hydro-dynamical framework. The circulation of marginal seas, the role of tides, waves and other currents are studied in terms of their effects upon the coastal boundary.

EENV 1120 The Dynamics of Contaminant Dispersal in Fluids  Taught in Fall 2008, 2009, 2010

This course will introduce the mechanisms of contaminant transport in lakes and the coastal ocean. The emphasis will be on a practical understanding of different dispersion regimes from point and distributed pollution sources. 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, rivers and the coastal zone, mixing in stratified estuaries and the dynamics of the seasonal thermocline.