Modelling the circulation and exchange of Kingston Basin and Lake Ontario with FVCOM

An unstructured grid, finite-volume, 3-dimensional primitive equation, sigma-coordinate terrain following ocean model (FVCOM) has been applied to Lake Ontario to investigate its monthly climatological circulation with a focus on Kingston Basin. Kingston Basin, in the northeastern end of Lake Ontario, sits between the main body of the lake and the outflowing St. Lawrence River and is adjacent to the Bay of Quinte Area of Concern designated by the International Joint Commission. The focus of this study is to use the unstructured model FVCOM to model the mean circulation in the Basin. Results showed that the FVCOM model can take up to 3 years to spin-up from rest for a wind-forced, almost fully enclosed lake model. The model accurately reproduced the current flow field within the main body of the lake and compared favourably to the flow field observed during the International Field Year for the Great Lakes (IFYGL) in Kingston Basin. Transport streamfunction results show that the structure of the flow into Kingston Basin from the main body of the lake changes throughout the year.