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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework
Published on: July 24, 2016
Three-dimensional numerical simulation of water quality and sediment-associated processes with application to a
Xiaobo Chao1, Yafei Jia, F Douglas Shields
1National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering, University of Mississippi, Carrier Hall 102, University, MS 38677, USA. chao@ncche.olemiss.edu
Abstract:
A three-dimensional water quality model was developed for simulating temporal and spatial variations of phytoplankton, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen in freshwater bodies. Effects of suspended and bed sediment on the water quality processes were simulated. A formula was generated from field measurements to calculate the light attenuation coefficient by considering the effects of suspended sediment and chlorophyll. The processes of adsorption-desorption of nutrients by sediment were described using the Langmuir Equation. The release rates of nutrients from the bed were calculated based on the concentration gradient across the water-sediment interface and other variables including pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration. The model was calibrated and validated by applying it to simulate the concentrations of chlorophyll and nutrients in a natural oxbow lake in Mississippi Delta. The simulated time series of phytoplankton (as chlorophyll) and nutrient concentrations were generally in agreement with field observations. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to demonstrate the impacts of varying suspended sediment concentration on lake chlorophyll levels.
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