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Bay Modeling Projects Cargill Salt The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration
Project is the largest tidal wetland restoration project on the West Coast.
The Cargill Corporation as well as the California Department of Fish and Game
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the development of an
Initial Stewardship Plan (ISP) for the transfer of ownership and management
of a portion of the existing salt ponds in The ISP Project team
included Schaaf & Wheeler, Dr. Steve Hansen, Dr. Edward Gross, and Dr.
Michael MacWilliams. Schaaf & Wheeler was responsible for
project management and the design of pond infrastructure; Dr. Hansen was
responsible for biological analysis.
The hydrodynamic modeling effort was directed by Dr. Edward Gross with
assistance from Dr. MacWilliams. The ISP modeling effort
included the development of a pond operation model for each pond group and
three-dimensional simulations of Tidal action will be
restored to at least three ponds, known as the Alviso
Region Island Ponds, as part of the ISP. Three-dimensional simulations of
this tidal restoration project were performed to estimate effects on tidal
hydrodynamics and salinity. The Initial Stewardship
Plan was approved by the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board
on Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Modeling of the Freshwater flow to the San
Francisco Estuary is regulated in part using a salinity standard based on “X2,”
the position of the 2 psu isohaline. The standard
is based on the “fish-X2” relationships, by which abundance or
survival several of estuarine species is higher when X2 is seaward and flow
is high. The X2 standard is a rare example of ecosystem management, but it is
a crude tool for managing ecosystem protection. The CALFED Bay-Delta
Program funded a multi-year interdisciplinary research effort to investigate
the mechanisms relating flow to abundance of estuarine biota. This effort includes initial modeling
studies using existing field data to identify important mechanisms and guide
in the planning and design of a concentrated field research and modeling effort
in subsequent stages of the project.
The project is a collaborative effort between Dr. Wim
Kimmerer (SFSU, Tiburon), Dr. Bill Bennett (Bodega
Marine Lab), and Dr. Edward Gross.
Additional modeling support was performed by Schaaf & Wheeler and
Dr. Michael MacWilliams. A three-dimensional
hydrodynamic model was applied to Ongoing modeling efforts
are aimed at understanding the spatial distribution of salinity, and the
effect of varying freshwater flow and X2 on retention of estuarine organisms.
The resulting research program will provide CALFED with vital information
needed for long-term management and restoration of the estuarine ecosystem. Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Modeling of the
Impact of Proposed Runway Extensions for the URS Corporation The most comprehensive
hydrology and sedimentation study every conducted on San Francisco Baywas performed as part of the planning process for
potential runway configuration at the San Francisco International airport.
The study included collection and analysis of an extensive set of field data
and development and application of sophisticated computer models to estimate
the physical and ecological effects of various runway configurations,
sediment borrow sites and mitigation sites. The detailed studies were
documented and underwent review from a panel of experts convened by NOAA. As part of URS project
team, Dr. Edward Gross provided advice and guidance on hydrodynamic model
calibration and validation and performed the three-dimensional hydrodynamic
modeling portion of the project. Dr. Gross had a large role in model calibration and
validation of the hydrodynamic models. This work included oversight of
generation of the bathymetric model grid of In
the process of performing three-dimensional modeling for the project, Dr.
Gross improved the numerical method of the three-dimensional TRIM3D model and
extended its input/output capabilities. He calibrated the model using a large
set of hydrodynamic data including velocity profile data, salinity transect
data, continuous salinity data, mechanical current meter data and tidal
elevation data. The calibrated and
validated hydrodynamic models were applied to estimate the physical effects
of combinations of several runway alternatives, sediment borrow sites and
mitigation alternatives. A large number of MIKE21 simulations performed by
URS to identify preferred alternatives. Three-dimensional hydrodynamic
simulations of preferred alternatives were performed by Dr. Edward Gross
using the TRIM3D model. Model predictions were used in evaluations of
potential ecological effects of project alternatives. |
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Copyright © 2005 Edward Gross |
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