Alarcon, VJ; Sanchez-Banda, G.F.; Mardonez-Meza, F.E.; Linhoss, A.C.; Kelble, C.; Ashby, S.

Progress Report: Development of a Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model for the Coral Gables Canal and the Biscayne Bay (Florida, USA)

2020

NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory; Universidad Diego Portales; Auburn University; Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi University

"This document is a progress report on the development of a water quality model for the Coral Gables Canal and the Biscayne Bay (Florida, USA). Details are presented on the study area, initial modeling efforts, input data used for developing the modeling tools, calibration and validation of the models, scenarios of water quality exploration, and future steps to improve the model. Hydrodynamic calibration and validation results indicate that the model correctly simulates water transport, especially for the northern sectors of the bay (R2 > 0.93, NSE > 0.83, RSR < 0.41, K-G > 0.23). Estimations of the hydrodynamic regime for southern Biscayne Bay can be improved although only the statistical indicator of bias is not adequate. Water quality scenarios simulations show that the model correctly captures the spatial distribution of water quality constituents concentrations. Nevertheless, the concentration values for all water quality constituents simulated by the model must be improved. This will be achieved when an existing watershed model is implemented for calculation of more realistic inputs of flow and contaminant concentrations to the canal and the bay."

Coral Gables Canal, Biscayne Bay, Florida, water quality, EFDC, model

OAR

AOML

FY2020 CRCP Project ID 31352; Project Title: Calibrating and Validating watershed models for Government Cut, FL; Principal Investigator: Chris Kelble