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The Upstate Freshwater Institute has developed, extended, and applied a number of thermodynamic and mass balance models over the past twenty years. These models solve the one-, two-, and three-dimensional diffusion and advection transport equations for both thermal energy and dissolved and particulate species. Example parameters modeled include:
- temperature
- dissolved oxygen
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
- fecal coliform
- phytoplankton
- chloride
- reduced species
These models vary in their complexity (kinetic processes), time-frame, and specific systems to which they are applied. UFI supports the development and use of models that have the appropriate level of complexity as required to credibly simulate the system and meet the goals of the model's end use.
In addition to developing new codes, UFI has experience using and extending existing water quality codes such as CE-QualW2, HSPF, WASP, MODFLOW, SSSP, MINTEQ, FATE, and MINEQL+
Integrated Approach
UFI embraces an integrated modeling approach as shown in the diagram below. This conceptual diagram depicts the balance between measurements, field and laboratory experiments to quantify key processes, data analysis, and model development and testing.
The breadth of the components for many water quality issues is broad enough to warrant an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers to develop highly reliable models. Selected features of some of the components (yellow boxes) of the integrated modeling approach (shown below) are described by clicking within their respective boxes.
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