Grantee Research Project Results
2006 Progress Report: Development of Coupled Physical and Ecological Models for Stress-Response Simulations of the Apalachicola Bay Regional Ecosystem
EPA Grant Number: R830880Title: Development of Coupled Physical and Ecological Models for Stress-Response Simulations of the Apalachicola Bay Regional Ecosystem
Investigators: Huang, Wenrui , Harwell, Mark A. , Gentile, John H. , Johnson, Elijah , Milla, Katherine , Hsieh, Ping
Institution: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: July 10, 2003 through June 9, 2007
Project Period Covered by this Report: July 10, 2006 through June 9, 2007
Project Amount: $749,691
RFA: Developing Regional-Scale Stressor-Response Models for Use in Environmental Decision-making (2002) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Aquatic Ecosystems , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Climate Change
Objective:
The Apalachicola Bay ecosystem is a relatively pristine system on the Florida panhandle. The Bay has been designated an Outstanding Florida Water, a State Aquatic Preserve, and an International Biosphere Reserve. It includes the Apalachicola Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) and is adjacent to the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. The Bay is the recipient of freshwater flows from the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River system (ACF), which drains over 60,000 km2 of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. We previously developed a conceptual model for the regional system, identifying the natural and anthropogenic drivers and stressors, the various ecosystem types, and the valued ecosystem components (VECs) for each habitat. This conceptual model is the basis for the STAR project; thus we are developing relevant tools that can be used to assess effects of human activities on the region and provide scientific support to the environmental decision-making process. Of particular concern are the present and anticipated reductions below historical freshwater flows because of urban (particularly Atlanta) and agricultural usage. VECs include oysters, recreational fisheries, salt marshes, and the associated aesthetic, endangered, and recreational species of birds, fish, and invertebrates. Stressors include changes in salinity and turbidity, sea-level rise, nutrient inputs, tropical storms and hurricanes, and habitat alteration. The objective of the research project is to develop coupled physical and ecological models that can be used to evaluate the stress-responses of the Bay's ecological systems to these natural and anthropogenic stressors. A 3-D hydrodynamic model will be coupled with a water quality model to simulate the current, transport, salinity, sediment, and nutrient regimes of the Bay. This physical model will be coupled through a GIS framework to ecological models to simulate effects on the oyster population, salt marsh grasses, and landscape habitat mosaic distribution of the Bay's ecosystems. The utility of the salt barrens distribution will be explored as an indicator of sea-level rise and salinity regime changes. Hyperspectral remote sensing data, acquired under separate funding from NOAA, will provide information for model calibration and stress responses. Following the US EPA ecological risk assessment framework, this coupled model system will be developed and tested against potential scenarios of multiple stressors to demonstrate the utility of the models as a tool for ecological risk assessment and risk management of the regional ecosystem. The product will be available for direct support to the environmental decision-making process for the Apalachicola Bay and associated regional ecosystem.
Progress Summary:
The ECSC STAR project has made significant progress this past year through the following tasks: 1) Convert the POM hydrodynamic model to the EPA-recommended EFDC hydrodynamic model for more advanced applications in environmental fluid studies. The EFDC hydrodynamic model has coupled with sediment transport model, nutrient dynamic and transport model, and toxic model. 2) An application of the coupled hydrodynamic model and the sediment transport model has been successfully completed. 3) Development and calibration of a salt marsh pore water salinity model are conducted to examine impacts of climate, tidal forcing, soil, vegetation, and topography on pore water salinity distribution along different elevations in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastal region; 4) Continued acquisition of spatially explicit databases for the regional ecosystem; nutrient and salinity data for 2002-2006 were obtained from NOAA for monitoring stations in Apalachicola Bay; parameters include water temperature, specific conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, depth, pH, turbidity, orthophosphate, ammonium, nitrate, and chlorophyll a; other data include biological features (e.g., oyster beds and vegetation), geographic and physical characteristics (e.g., roads and transportation, digital elevation models, soil types, land uses, stream gage data, precipitation), and chemical characteristics (e.g., water quality). 5) The river flow distribution model has been improved by using recent field surveys data from Northwest Florida Water Management District 6) Collaborations with NOAA scientists on developing an oyster model for Apalachicola Bay has progressed very well, improving an existing model and acquiring extensive databases for oysters in the Bay. 7) Another collaboration with a NOAA-funded project will aid development of risk assessment scenarios relevant to current decision-making issues concerning the ACF system and climate change effects.
Future Activities:
Major research tasks to be accomplished are listed below:
- Improving the preliminary oyster dynamic model that has recently developed to predict oyster growth and mortality in the Apalachicola Bay system.
- Developing a salt marsh dynamic model to examine stressor effects in Apalachicola Bay.
- Coupling a nutrient transport model with the hydrodynamic model to assess nutrient transport in the estuarine ecosystem.
- Coupling the oyster dynamic model with the hydrodynamic model as well as sediment and nutrient transport for risk assessment of ecological responses to stressors.
- Integrating different research components by GIS interface.
- Coordinating state agencies to apply the assessment model tools resulting from this research to examine effects of upstream freshwater reduction on the estuarine ecosystem. Conduct a demonstration ecological risk assessment through development of the test scenarios related to climate change and the ACF water management.
- Publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals, presenting papers in national/international conferences, and disseminating research accomplishments to environmental and ecological management communities.
Coordination with Environmental Management Agencies
The research team maintains close contacts/coordination with major local environmental management agencies for the improvement and applications of the research accomplishments resulting from this study. These agencies include Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR), NOAA Environmental Cooperative Science Center at FAMU, Florida Department Environmental Protection Agency, and Northwest Florida Water Management District. Field observations from these agencies have been used in supporting research in the STAR project, such as the remote sensing research, and oyster dynamic modeling. Northwest Florida Water Management District has conducted field survey of flow distribution in the Apalachicola River that has helped us in the improvement of the hydrodynamic model. In the meantime, the improvement hydrodynamic model has been used in supporting studies of the effects of freshwater diversion on Apalachicola estuarine ecosystem the State of Florida.
Organizing an international conference, FLUCOME 2007
http://www.eng.fsu.edu/flucome9/index.php Exit
Dr. Wenrui Huang has served as the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the conference. The 9th FLUCOME will provide a forum for researchers to exchange the latest information and technologies from large-scale phenomena of hydraulics to small scales bio-technology in multiple disciplines. The conference covers topics of environmental fluid flows, estuarine eco-hydraulics, and watershed loadings. Florida Department of Environmental Protection Agency and Northwest Florida Water Management District have served as co-sponsors.
Selected conference papers will be peer-reviewed in special journals of two international journals.
Dr. Wenrui Huang serves as a Guess Editor for the Special Issue on Computational Fluid Dynamics for the international journal of Computer and Fluid.
Dr. Wenrui Huang also serves as a Guest Editor for the Special Issue on Advances in Estuarine and Coastal Research for the international journal of Coastal Research
Two papers resulted from STAR project have been accepted for the conference.
Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 8 publications | 4 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Chen S, Huang W, Wang H, Li D. Remote sensing assessment of sediment re-suspension during Hurricane Frances in Apalachicola Bay, USA. REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT 2009;113(12):2670-2681. |
R830880 (2006) |
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Liu X, Huang W. An Effective Algorithm to Reduce Horizontal Pressure Gradient Errors in sigma-Coordinate in EFDC Hydrodynamic Model. JOURNAL OF COASTAL RESEARCH 2008;10052:193-204 |
R830880 (2006) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Air, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecological Indicators, Atmosphere, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Regional/Scaling, Monitoring/Modeling, Air Pollution Effects, Ecological Monitoring, climate change, Environmental Monitoring, regional hydrologic modeling, bay ecosystem, stess response, assessment methods, ecosystem assessment, stressors, water quality, regional environmental health, three dimensional model, modeling ecological risk, ecological assessment, risk assessment, aquatic ecosystem, ecological models, hydrology, ecosystem indicators, water monitoring, environmental stress, Apalachicola Bay, ecosystem stress, anthropogenic stresses, ecological risk, regional scale, hydrologic modeling, GIS, modeling, regional scale impacts, ecological modelingProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.