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Overview of Watershed and Water Body Models for Mercury used by the US EPA

Collaborative Meeting on Modeling Mercury in Freshwater Environments January 19, 2006 Niagara Falls, NY . Overview of Watershed and Water Body Models for Mercury used by the US EPA. Christopher Knightes USEPA / ORD / NERL / ERD Athens, GA. Mercury in Watersheds And Water Bodies. Dry

JasminFlorian
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Overview of Watershed and Water Body Models for Mercury used by the US EPA

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  1. Collaborative Meeting on Modeling Mercury in Freshwater Environments January 19, 2006 Niagara Falls, NY Overview of Watershed and Water Body Models for Mercury used by the US EPA Christopher Knightes USEPA / ORD / NERL / ERD Athens, GA

  2. Mercury in Watersheds And Water Bodies Dry Deposition Dry Deposition Hg2+(p,v) Wet Deposition Hg2+ Litterfall and Throughfall Evasion (Hg0) Runoff and Erosion Watershed Processes Hg0 Ground Water? Food Web Transformation MeHg Resuspension Hg2+ Settling Diffusion Hg2+ MeHg Burial

  3. Primary1 and Support Models for Analysis of Mercury Fateavailable from EPA - Athens • SERAFM – Mercury Risk Screening Model • WCS (MLM) – Watershed Loading Model • GBMM – Grid-Based Watershed Loading Model • WhAEM2000 – Groundwater Flow Model • WASP7 – Water Body Pollutant Fate Model • EFDC – Water Body Hydrodynamic Model • BASS – Aquatic Food Web Model 1 Simulates mercury explicitly.

  4. Watershed Mercury Models • Watershed Characterization System, Mercury Loading Module – WCS MLM • Current available model • Grid soil calculations, sub-watershed loading resolution • Simple hydrology, erosion, mass balance • Provides yearly-average concentrations, loads • Grid-Based Mercury Model – GBMM • Projected Availability: January 2006 • Fine grid resolution • Simple wetland and tributary transport and transformation algorithms for mercury • Provides daily concentrations, loads • Future incorporation into BASINS toolkit

  5. Water Body Mercury Models • SERAFM: • Process-based, Steady-State Lake/Pond Model • Enhanced version of IEM-2M from Mercury Report to Congress • Stand-Alone model developed for Risk Assessors • Incorporates Watershed Runoff and Erosion, Mercury Cycle Chemistry, Bioaccumulation, and Wildlife/Human Risk Values • Provides yearly-average concentrations, loads • Serves as a Repository for Updates in Mercury Science and Modeling • WASP7 and WASP7 Mercury Module: • Dynamic, Process Modeling Framework • General design for modeling contaminant fate and transport in surface waters • Compartment Modeling Approach, Lakes/Ponds/Rivers • Incorporates Mercury Module • Is being updated to incorporate SERAFM Science • Model architecture is being updated and improved

  6. WASP Mercury Module Point Source Loads of Hg(II) Watershed and Atmospheric Loads of Hg(II) and MeHg Volatile Exchange of Hg(0) State Variables Hg(0) Silt Hg(II) Sand MeHg Biotic Solids Demethylation Oxidation DOC Methylation Reduction Burial

  7. Mercury Watershed/Water Body Links Atmospheric Models Bioaccumulation Models BASS FCM-2 Watershed Models WCS-MLM GBMM WARMF Water Body Models WASP SERAFM External Spreadsheets ASCII Files Windows Clipboard Hydrodynamic Models EFDC DYNHYD EPD-RIV1

  8. Atmospheric Wet and Dry Deposition reduction, evasion Water Surface Impervious Surface HgII in Soil export Leaching runoff reduction, volatilization runoff and erosion MeHg Hg(II)Hg0 Silt, POM water column Sand Tributaries volatilization export sedimentlayer export Burial Brier Creek Mercury Modeling: WCS-MLM and WASP7

  9. Mercury Reduction Benefits Analysis:Changes in Mercury Concentrations and Evaluation of Response Times for Mercury Emission/Deposition ReductionsApplications of SERAFM, WASP, WCS, and BASSEagle Butte, South Dakota Pawtuckaway Lake, New Hampshire Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina Brier Creek, Georgia Lake Barco, Florida

  10. Summary of Ecosystem Characteristics

  11. Predicted vs Observed Fish Concentrations Observed vs. predicted fish mercury concentrations in model ecosystems at steady state with no change in atmospheric loading. Straight line represents 1:1 relationship between observed and modeled results.

  12. Representative Changes in Fish Concentrations in Response to Emission/Deposition Reductions

  13. Sensitivity Range of Response Times

  14. Current and Historical Applications by NERL-ERD Staff • Steamboat Creek and Wetland Mesocosm near Reno, NV • Scott Brown (MS Thesis at UNR) under advisement of Chris Knightes (SERAFM) • Sudbury River, MA • Chris Knightes (SERAFM, WASP7) • Cheyenne Sioux Reservation Ponds, SD • John Johnston (SERAFM) • Five Representative Ecosystems: Brier Creek, GA; Lee Dam, SD; Pawtuckaway Lake, NH; Lake Barco, FL; Lake Waccamaw, NC. • Robert Ambrose, Elsie Sunderland, Chris Knightes, John Johnston (WCS-MLM, SERAFM, WASP7, BASS) • Vermont & New Hampshire Lakes • Chris Knightes (R-MCM) • Ogeechee, Canoochee, & Brier Creek River Basins, GA • Tim Wool, Chris Knightes & Robert Ambrose (WCS-MLM, WASP7) • Ochlockonee, Savannah, St. Mary’s, Satilla, Suwanee, GA • Tim Wool & Robert Ambrose (WCS-MLM, WASP7); Craig Barber (BASS) • Everglades, FL • Robert Ambrose, Craig Barber, Rochelle Araujo (WASP5, BASS)

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