Grantee Research Project Results
Research Project To Construct and Calibrate a GIS Based Model to Predict the Trophic State of More Than 500 Lakes in the Seven-County Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
EPA Grant Number: U915436Title: Research Project To Construct and Calibrate a GIS Based Model to Predict the Trophic State of More Than 500 Lakes in the Seven-County Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
Investigators: Anderle, Teresa H.
Institution: University of Minnesota
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: September 24, 1998 through September 1, 2001
Project Amount: $27,242
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Academic Fellowships , Safer Chemicals , Fellowship - Civil Engineering
Objective:
The objective of this research project is to construct and calibrate a GIS-based model to predict the trophic state of more than 500 lakes in the seven-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. This work is part of a larger project seeking to characterize past, present, and future water quality in the region by combining remote sensing of lake trophic state and GIS modeling of land use and watershed features.
Approach:
This model will link watershed characteristics and water quality data with lake characteristics to create a lake eutrophication model based on nonpoint source nutrient inputs. Data collection efforts will focus on watershed characteristics (boundaries, size, and topography), land use, precipitation, water quality of stormwater runoff, and lake characteristics (area, mean depth, and hydraulic retention time). Runoff volumes will be computed from precipitation data and land use-weighted runoff coefficients. Runoff volumes will be combined with runoff nutrient concentrations to develop nutrient export values from the various land uses. These export values will be input into a steady-state lake phosphorus model to predict trophic state. Remotely sensed trophic state data will be used to calibrate the model.
The final product will be a valuable planning and management tool for describing regional water quality patterns and assessing the impact of future urban developments on Twin Cities Metropolitan Area lakes.
Supplemental Keywords:
fellowship, geographic information systems, GIS, Twin Cities, trophic state, water quality, remote sensing, land use, watershed, runoff., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Midwest, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Water & Watershed, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, State, Aquatic Ecosystem, Monitoring/Modeling, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Civil/Environmental Engineering, computing technology, Civil Engineering, Ecology and Ecosystems, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Watersheds, eutrophication, Minnesota, MN, trophic levels, model, precipitation, watershed management, runoff, Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (MN), modeling, watershed land use, watershed modeling, lakes, stormwater, phosphorus, water quality, GIS, lake ecosysyems, lake ecosystem, land use, modeling ecosystemsProgress and Final Reports:
The 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.