You are here:
The Influence of Physical Forcing on Bottom-water Dissolved Oxygen within the Caloosahatchee River Estuary, FL
Citation:
XIA, M., P. M. CRAIG, B. A. SCHAEFFER, A. STODDARD, Z. LIU, M. PENG, H. ZHANG, C. M. WALLEN, N. BAILEY, AND J. MANDRUP-POULSEN. The Influence of Physical Forcing on Bottom-water Dissolved Oxygen within the Caloosahatchee River Estuary, FL. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 136(10):1032-1044, (2010).
Impact/Purpose:
Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code, a numerical estuarine and coastal ocean circulation hydrodynamic model, was used to simulate the distribution of dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphours), and chrophyll a in the Caloosahatchee RIver Estuary.
Description:
Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code (EFDC), a numerical estuarine and coastal ocean circulation hydrodynamic model, was used to simulate the distribution of dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, temperature, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), and chlorophyll a in the Caloosahatchee River Estuary (CALRE). These modeled results were then compared with field observations made by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Modeled DO, salinity, temperature, nutrients, and chlorophyll a were in good agreement with observational data. Sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the individual and coupled effects of the river discharge, atmospheric winds, tidal forcing, and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) loading on the spatial and temporal distributions of DO. We focus our discussions on modeled DO dynamics and emphasize sensitivity analyses. Simulations indicated that wind forcing significantly impacted the bottom DO concentration due to vertical mixing. River discharge enhanced stratification in deep locations, but propagated vertical mixing in shallow locations. Surface DO concentrations were sensitive to increased nutrient loadings, but bottom DO concentrations experienced minimal response. Finally, tidal forces heavily influenced bottom layer DO concentrations.