Lake Ontario -- Coastal Study: characterisation of water quality in tributary-affected and developed areas of the nearshore and linkages with the offshore

The intent of this study is to document present-day patterns in   water quality characteristics of the nearshore of Lake Ontario and   to evaluate, to the extent possible, the drivers of this variability   at scales relevant to both water quality concerns and key ecological   processes.    This will include examination of the effects of tributary and other   shoreline discharges on conditions along the shoreline of the lake.   Chemical and physical exchanges between the nearshore and open  lake will be explored in an effort to better understand the impact   of the nearshore on offshore conditions and the moderating effects   of the offshore on the nearshore. A combination of approaches will   be used to assemble an understanding of watershed-shoreline-  nearshore-offshore interactions. At four intensive study areas   concurrent monitoring of water quality in key tributaries and the   nearshore of the lake, supported with physical measurements of lake   circulation and tributary flows, will provide an empirical basis for   describing nearshore-tributary interactions. In cooperation with   study collaborators, analysis of physical and chemical conditions   over the study areas will be extended using hydrodynamic  and water quality modelling to provide a space-time integration of   tributary-nearshore interactions.