Mapping Lake Ontario’s Near Shore Velocities

Session: Poster Session

John Wernly, US Geological Survey, [email protected]

Abstract

As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected water velocity measurements in the near-shore environment of Lake Ontario over four years (2015-2018) to better understand the hydrodynamics that influence in-lake nutrient processes. Using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), water-column measurements of water-velocity vectors were made along one-mile long transects perpendicular to the shoreline. Seven velocity mapping transects were spaced from near the Niagara River to Mexico Bay, covering the majority of the Lake Ontario shoreline in New York. Transects were visited monthly during the growing season (May-October). ADCP data processed using the USGS Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT), allows visualization of flow in 3-dimensions and provides valuable calibration data for lake hydrodynamic models.