UBC Civil Engineering

Environmental Fluid Mechanics

some imagery - any size

program overview

Although Canada has more water than most nations, fluctuations in the quantity and quality of our available water, due to climate change and other human influences, greatly affect Canadian life. Most water quality issues require an understanding of physical processes such as circulation and irreversible mixing. Examples include trapping of nutrients behind upstream reservoirs, nutrient supply to the photic zone supporting phytoplankton and fisheries food supply, effluent dispersal in lakes and coastal waters, and the path of contaminants (such as E. coli and Cryptosporidium) to drinking water supply intakes and beaches. The EFM groups focuses on the description and understanding of the physical dynamics of water bodies with the aim of developing numerical models for the prediction of the impacts of climate change and human activities on lake circulation.

The Environmental Fluid Mechanics group is led by Dr. Greg Lawrence and Dr. Bernard Laval whose combined expertise spans the whole range of analytical, numerical, laboratory, field methods.

Research

Advanced research on the transport and behaviour of contaminants in water bodies requires the integration of knowledge in Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Aquatic Chemistry and Biology. Environmental Fluid Mechanics is a relatively new and evolving field of study which seeks to examine the fundamental role of fluid motions in determining environmental quality. When an understanding of fluid mechanics can be coupled to knowledge of the transformations and fate of contaminants and nutrients, water management alternatives for natural systems can be adequately developed and evaluated. The scope of Environmental Fluid Mechanics is perhaps best defined by considering some of the problems that it addresses. Topics of current interest include the rehabilitation of lakes (reaeration, artificial recirculation, hypolimnetic withdrawal), the wind-wave induced suspension of mine tailings, the feasibility of the subaqueous disposal of mine tailings, the dispersion of nutrients and pollutants in lakes and coastal waters, the fluid mechanics of nutrient uptake in seaweed, the generation and dynamics of internal waves in lakes and reservoirs, hydrodynamic stability, turbulence and mixing in stratified flows, the development of biomonitors for aqueous contaminants, biotransformation of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments, distribution, concentrations and movement of toxic materials in aquatic environments.

top of page

Facilities

Specialized facilities for studies in Environmental Fluid Mechanics include recirculating sediment flumes, fresh water flumes, stratified flow facilities, laser doppler anemometer, acoustic doppler velocimeter, 5 watt laser for flow visualization, wave flume and wave basin, current meters, conductivity probes and thermistor arrays.

top of page

Faculty in Environmental Fluid Mechanics

Bernard Laval Environmental fluid mechanics, physical limnology, coastal oceanography, transport processes, hydrodynamic stability and mixing.
Greg Lawrence Environmental fluid mechanics, hydraulics, hydrodynamic stability and mixing, physical limnology, coastal engineering and water quality management.

top of page

a place of mind, The Univeristy of British Columbia

© 2009 UBC Civil Engineering

Emergency Procedures | Accessibility | Contact UBC | © Copyright The University of British Columbia