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Great Lakes Monitoring |  |
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Lake Michigan Mass Balance
Mass Balance ModelsThe mathematical models used to process Lake Michigan Mass Balance data are actually a set of interwoven, related sub-models, each representing a different key facet of the ecosystem. The basic models are: Hydrodynamics -- predicting water movements necessary to describe the 3-dimensional transport of dissolved and particulate constituents in the water column.Sediment (particle) transport -- describes the resuspension, transport, and deposition of particulate materials including sorbent phases necessary to describe the movement of particle-associated contaminants Eutrophication/sorbent dynamics -- describes the production, respiration, grazing, and decomposition of planktonic biomass within the lake Contaminant transport and fate -- describes contaminant partitioning between dissolved and sorbed phases, transfer between media (air, water, sediment), and biogeochemical transformations Food web bioaccumulation -- simulated contaminant accumulation from water and sediments to predator fish via direct exposure and trophic transfer through benthic and pelagic food webs. Together, these submodels form an integrated description of toxic chemical cycling in the aquatic ecosystem, with which to predict the relationship between loadings and concentrations for contaminants of interest. The interconnectivity is illustrated below:
Model design is based on those used for the Green Bay Mass Balance (GBMB) study, and are consistent with those used in other studies such as the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model (Linker et al., 1993). Linkages will be established with atmospheric transport and watershed delivery models to allow simulation of multimedia toxics transport as well as loads and boundary conditions to the lake. Such linkages enable relation of watershed and "airshed" management to water quality.
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