Author(s): Michael L. Deas; Gerald T. Orlob

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Abstract: Water resources of the Sacramento River system have been intensively developed over the past century. With the construction of Shasta Dam and other components of the Central Valley Project, salmon populations have undergone a steady decline. Water quantity and temperature are thought to be major factors for successful salmon propagation. Two finite element models, one for hydrodynamic simulation and one for temperature simulation, were applied to evaluate the impact of alternative project operations on river temperature. Because longitudinal temperature characteristics were of highest priority, the river was represented as a one-dimensional, laterally and depth averaged system. Treating temperature as a tracer signal, the hydrodynamic and temperature models were used in succession during calibration, matching the phase and amplitude of measured diurnal temperature variation. This iterative process proved efficient and effective in arriving at an overall set of calibration parameters. One requirement of the process was sufficient measured water temperature data to reflect the diurnal variation with which to compare model output; in this case hourly data were sufficient.

DOI:

Year: 1997