Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program Long Term Resource Monitoring

Introduction/Background:

The primary objective of this project is to develop the capability to relate hydraulic parameters for various alternative conditions to requirements for diverse biota enhancement by numerically modeling selected Mississippi River pools. Two-dimensional flow models provide good simulations of current velocity patterns and water surface elevations for selected conditions. Model information is essential for characterizing aquatic habitat conditions and for describing the hydrologic regime for floodplain habitats. The numerical models provide tools to evaluate and maximize opportunities for success in planning and designing as well as monitoring habitat improvement projects. The development of two-dimensional numerical hydraulic pool models will provide timely management tools as "on-the-shelf" models in support of the LTRMP.

Specific objectives for this project include:

• Developing calibrated, two-dimensional hydrodynamic models for UMRS Navigation Pools 17 and 18;
• Developing a common set of hydrologic conditions (based on flow duration for "representative flows" - 50% annual duration, typical over-wintering conditions, ordinary high water, etc.);
• Producing water depth, velocity, and inundation datasets for specified hydrologic conditions; and
• Developing a GIS database of model input and output datasets to be used by querying tools in combination with the HNA databases.

Staffing requirements:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers