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LM-3: A High-resolution Lake Michigan Mass Balance Water Quality Model
Citation:
MELENDEZ, W., M. SETTLES, J. PAUER, AND K. R. RYGWELSKI. LM-3: A High-resolution Lake Michigan Mass Balance Water Quality Model. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-09/020, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
Results using the model are being used to support the CWA; Critical Programs Act (Lakewide Management Plans and Remedial Action Plans); Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Executive Order; U.S.-Canada GLWQA; FIFRA; and the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy. In particular, the research supports the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy in that it focuses on the nearshore issues of concern to the International Joint Commission and may be the type of study that could be used to help re-formulate the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Description:
This report is a user’s manual that describes the high-resolution mass balance model known as LM3. LM3 has been applied to Lake Michigan to describe the transport and fate of atrazine, PCB congeners, and chloride in that system. The model has also been used to model eutrophication in the lake. The physics that describe water movement in the lake were provided to LM3 by the output of Princeton Ocean Model (POM) hydrodynamic model. The detailed manual includes a discussion of the model theory, organization of the source code, and the user interface associated with the model. A description of the kinetic equations used to model eutrophication, atrazine, chloride, and PCB congeners in Lake Michigan is provided. There is a detailed mathematical description of the ULTIMATE QUICKEST transport algorithm that is used in both the water and sediment columns. The manual describes three external libraries that are used by LM3 for various tasks such as reading input values and writing model output. Input file examples for the simulations of atrazine, chloride, eutrophication, and PCBs are included. This report provides very detailed (309 pages) of documentation of the LM3 model. The model, has been applied to address concerns of various stakeholders regarding eutrophication, atrazine, PCBs, and chloride in the lake. The LM3 application to Lake Michigan was integrated with other models in that system. Integrated modeling is an analytical approach linking data in different models to calculate how air, water and land pollution impacts interact and thereby help agency regulators more accurately assess the implications of possible decisions. For instance, the model has been used to determine the relationship of nutrient loadings and resultant chlorophyll concentration in the lake. This model is written in a modular fashion to facilitate application to other water systems. Results using the model are being used to support the CWA; Critical Programs Act (Lakewide Management Plans and Remedial Action Plans); Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Executive Order; U.S.-Canada GLWQA; FIFRA; and the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy. In particular, the research supports the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy in that it focuses on the nearshore issues of concern to the International Joint Commission and may be the type of study that could be used to help re-formulate the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.