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MODELING OF THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND AND ADJOINING RIVERS, BAYS, AND SHELF WATERS
Citation:
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this project is the implementation and testing of an accurate, high resolution circulation-sediment-wave modeling system for the Mississippi Sound and adjoining rivers, bays and shelf waters. The modeling system will consist of a three-dimensional circulation model, a sand-silt sediment transport model, and a wave model. This system will provide the means to forecast littoral circulation, sediment suspension and transport, and surface waves while allowing for the appropriate coupling of the circulation, sediment transport and wave models. Partners in this research and users of the product include the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center, the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center, and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
Description:
The Gulf of Mexico and its coastal watersheds are a complex ecosystem that is receiving negative impacts from human activities both in the Gulf and its watersheds. The Gulf of Mexico Program (GMP), as a multi-agency effort, is working with the Gulf States, citizens, and private sector to protect, conserve and preserve the Gulf ecosystem. The GMP currently has four areas of focus: (1) public health associated with shellfish contamination on recreational water quality; (2) habitat protection and restoration; (3) non-indigenous species introductions; and (4) excessive nutrient enrichment of coastal waters. The GMP has established focus teams for each area that include representation from State and Federal institutions, non-government organizations (business and industry, agriculture, and environmental interests), and citizens. This project is building a regional scale modeling system for the Mississippi sound and adjoining rivers, bays, and shelf waters. This modeling system will assist the GMP focus teams in meeting their respective environmental goals and objectives, as well as provide a modeling capability which can be utilized by local, state, and federal agencies to aid efforts that include research into littoral processes, resource management planning, establishing maximum nutrient loads and identifying possible contamination of coastal waters, rivers, and beaches. This project addresses several of the specific priority modeling needs of the Gulf of Mexico Program: (1) the need for identification and integration of the modeling requirements of the GMP with its partners and the modeling community; (2) identification and coordination of past, current, and planned modeling activities to apply to these requirements; and (3) assists in the coordination and application of models to understand and respond to key issues in the Gulf. Significant progress has been made in developing the modeling system and collection of data to calibrate and validate the system. The funding provided to support this assistance agreement is highly leveraged with project support from other federal and state partners in the overall project. These partners include the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center, the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center, and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. This system will provide the means to forecast littoral circulation, sediment suspension and transport, and surface waves while allowing for the appropriate coupling of the circulation, sediment transport and wave models. Turbidity, current, and temperature-salinity data will be collected for model validation. There is a strong interest from various state and federal agencies to have a high-resolution model developed and running operationally on a regular basis. . The Mississippi littoral region provides a good location for implementation, testing, and verifying the proposed prediction system. Over the past several years the Mississippi Coast has undergone tremendous growth and development. This increase in the coastal population as well as the changes in the utilization of the coastal resources has caused a strain on the environment of the coastal region of Mississippi. The model test bed of the Mississippi littoral region could provide civil authorities with the means to consider the impacts of coastal developments on the transport of sediments, the distribution of pollutants, and the determination of waste load allocations.