Research in water resources engineering encompasses two major areas: Hydraulics and hydrology.
The field of hydraulics comprises the study of the physics of fluid motion in open channels (natural and artificial) and closed conduits, as well as how to control fluid flow using hydraulic structures. Hydraulic research may involve advanced numerical modeling, field testing, and the construction and testing of physical models in the laboratory. Current projects include assessing culvert hydraulics for the purpose of studying fish passage, physical and numerical modeling of spillways, as well as one and two dimensional modeling of river ice processes. Recent past projects have investigated the hydraulics of stepped spillways, investigating the hydraulics of the Netley-Libau marsh, and the performance of the inlet and outlet structures for the floodway expansion.
Hydrology deals with water in the atmosphere, surface, and underground.
Research in hydrology involves the development and application of hydrologic models for the purpose of predicting runoff from watersheds at different scales. Current research involves the investigation of climate change impact on water resources in central Canada, using a variety of methods for downscaling global climate models to basin scale. Recent projects have involved that application of advanced statistical methods for investigating drought frequency, climate trends, and climatic teleconnections. Laboratory facilitiesThe Hydraulics Research and Testing Facility has an area of 780 sq m and supports both physical and numerical modeling. The laboratory houses a constant-head tank, a 15 m variable slope flume and a 34 m random wave flume. A counter-rotating flume and computer controlled cold room are used to study frazil and anchor ice. A 110 sq m area is available for the construction of hydraulics model(s). The facility is equipped with a wood working and electronics shop as well as a range of electronic instrumentation, including 3-axis acoustic Doppler velocimeters, hot wire anemometry, pressure sensors, servo-motor positioning equipment, acoustic transducers, image acquisition hardware, and high speed data acquisition systems. Software is available for 2D finite-element modeling of rivers and lakes, sediment transport modeling, and 2D modeling of wind generated wave fields.
Professors in water resources engineering:
Shawn Clark
Jay Doering
Peter Rasmussen
Tricia Stadnyk
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