Background |
Models |
Projects |
Publications |
People |
News
Background |
Models |
Projects |
Publications |
People |
News
Scope of Projects
Everglades regional: Sulfer & MeHg
Everglades subregional: WCA2A Wading Bird Suitability
Florida Coastal Everglades LTER
Everglades regional: SERES project
Spain Segura Basin: Ecological Economics
Everglades regional: CERP ASR
Everglades regional: CERP Decomp
Everglades WCA-1: unique restoration
Louisiana Davis Pond: restoration prototype
Everglades regional: cal/val (ELM v. 2.8)
Everglades regional: cal/val (ELM v. 2.5)
The target audience for this page is the inter-agency Project team evaluating the downstream effects of reductions in sulfate in Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades Agricultural Area.
For this project,
we applied the regional ELM v2.9.0, specifically evaluating sulfate fate and transport - and associated methylmercury (MeHg) risks - within the greater Everglades region.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provided the funding to support the simulations shown here.
This page provides the Project team with ELM simulation results under the different Baseline and Alternative scenarios.
The Model Documentation report on the ELM v2.8.6 historical hindcasting (calibration) performance assessment for the sulfate module
(including data, code, and model performance assessment) is found in the Publications link.
The newer ELM v2.9.0 used in this project differs from v2.8.6 only with the addition of a new Consumers module, thus the sulfate performance remains the same.
Note: That Model Documentation Report is separate from the documentation of the ELM applications that supported analysis of the sulfate reduction scenarios, which is the topic of this web page.
After acceptable calibration/validation model performance assessments, the regional 500 m grid resolution ELM
application was used to evaluate a suite of future scenarios of sulfate loading into the Everglades.
As described below, a significant source of sulfate is the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) and Lake Okeechobee,
with most flows moving through Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) and then into the greater Everglades (domain of ELM).
A Simple Model of STAs (SMSTA), and other quantitative tools (see below) were used to establish boundary-condition
sulfate loads to the Everglades, with the ELM simulating the downstream landscape patterns of sulfate
availability over decadal time scales in the greater Everglades.
The results of this Everglades sulfate modeling effort was further analyzed for risk of mercury methylation, based on a research-based equation developed by U.S. Geological Survey collaborators
(led by Dr. William Orem and David Krabbenhoft) to quantify potential (sulfate-influenced)
mercury methylation patterns in the Everglades under the varying sulfate reduction scenarios.
This section links to documentation of model assumptions, inputs, and outputs for the 2010 Base ELM simulation runs for the Project.
Final summary report of the evaluations of project Alternatives (x.y Mb)
Timeline of updates to this page.
Page Contents - Links to Major headings
37 Kb - Summary table of input data for simulations,
which is the same as that for the CERP ASR project.
1.4 Mb - Input map data that are common to all project simulations,
which is the same as that for the CERP ASR project.
Simple Model of STAs (SMSTA), for estimating Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) sulfate outflow concentrations (input to the ELM/Everglades)
Purpose: A simple method to mix daily inflows of water volumes and sulfate masses from all source waters flowing into an STA,
and estimate the subsequent daily outflow sulfate concentrations. Developed
to evaluate among-Alternative, relative differences in downstream Everglades sulfate fate and transport.
In this project, the only relevant difference among Project Alternatives are EAA and Lake O sulfate concentrations,
which may be propagated downstream to STAs and the Everglades.
41 Kb, Dec 7, 2015 Brief documentation of SMSTA methods and assumptions.
Excel file, 9.2 Mb, Dec 7, 2015 Excel file containing input and output data of SMSTA; see below SMSTA summary tables graphic.
Budgets: Sulfate inflow loading budget summary (Base and Alts)
ELM water management infrastructure data
Note: For detailed hydrologic assumptions used by the SFWMM (whose managed water control structure flows drive these ELM simulations),
please see the relevant documentation for the application of the SFWMM.
ELM canal/levee and water control structure maps, all simulations.
ELM water control structures: database export graphics, all simulations.
9.9 Mb, Dec 9, 2015 - 2010 BASE:
Water control structure attributes, including into-domain constituent (P, SO4, Cl) inflow concentrations. The same water control
structures were used for all simulations, but the constant SO4 inflow concentrations for non-STA structures (e.g., HLYQIN) varied among
ALTs, in accordance with the reductions described for STAs above.
0.1 Mb, May 5, 2013 -
Summary table of the Performance Measures/Indicators that are used to make relative comparisons among ELM-simulated baselines and alternatives.
Includes brief description of the Performance Measure or Indicator, and guidance on their use and interpretation. We used the same sulfate Performance Measures that were applied to the CERP ASR project.
Summary of Sulfate Performance Measure Results (Base and Alts).
Summary graphic (area of marsh within the model-domain) of the sulfate
Performance Measure differences between 2010 BASE each ALT simulation.
0.5 Mb xls file, Dec 7, 2015 - Excel (.xlsx) file containing the data table and graphics that generated the above graphic.
Sulfate Performance Measures Maps (Base and Alts)
For highly dynamic hydro-ecological variables, Performance Measures include difference maps of:
a) landscape Period of Simulation mean ("MeanPOS" in variable's name), and
b) landscape seasonal "snapshots" which are end-of-season 30d averages ("MeanRAW" in variable's name) for three example years:
35 Mb, Dec 4, 2015 - All ALTs vs 2010BASE: Maps of the SO4 Performance Measure differences between the ALTs and the 2010BASE simulations.
Raw model output: Time Series of sulfate concentrations at each sampling point used the 2005 REMAP monitoring program (model output from Base and Alts).
3.7 Mb, Dec 7, 2015 - Excel (.xlsx) file containing raw output data for all simulations: 30-day mean time series of sulfate
concentrations at each REMAP point location.
Summary of MeHg Risk Performance Measure Results (Base and Alts).
Summary graphic (area of marsh within the model-domain) of the MeHg Risk
Performance Measure differences between 2010 BASE each ALT simulation.
0.5 Mb xls file, Dec 7, 2015 - Excel (.xlsx) file containing the data table and graphics that generated the above graphic.
MeHg Risk Performance Measures Maps (Base and Alts)
For highly dynamic hydro-ecological variables, Performance Measures include difference maps of:
a) landscape Period of Simulation mean ("MeanPOS" in variable's name), and
b) landscape seasonal "snapshots" which are end-of-season 30d averages ("MeanRAW" in variable's name) for three example years:
25 Mb, Dec 4, 2015 - All ALTs vs 2010BASE: Maps of the MeHg Risk Performance Measure differences between the ALTs and the 2010BASE simulations.
EcoLandMod Projects