Evaluating the Potential Effects of Benthic Currents in Lake Ontario Upon an Energy Storage Facility

Session: 47. - Physical Processes in Lakes

Aqsa Arif, University of Toronto, [email protected]
Mathew Wells, University of Toronto Scarborough, [email protected]

Abstract

Water currents and temperatures at 55 m depth, offshore from the Toronto Islands, reveal a surprising degree of variability associated with large upwelling and downwelling events in Lake Ontario. We report 6 weeks of measurements made from May to June 2017 near the site of an Underwater compressed air energy storage (UWCAES) facility that has  pressurized air accumulators approximately the height of a three-story building. The bathymetry offshore of Toronto Harbour has a large underwater escarpment with some of the steepest slopes on the north shore of Lake Ontario. This appears to cause along-shore benthic currents to intensify in this location most notably during near surface downwelling events, compared to previous deployments at similar depths in other Great Lakes. The UWCAES is an innovative new technology, which addresses intermittent energy storage to enable the use of renewable energy sources. We will discuss the likely impacts of these benthic currents on the operation of this renewable energy infrastructure installed offshore.

1. Keyword
hydrodynamics

2. Keyword
Lake Ontario

3. Keyword
water currents