USGS River Ecosystem Modeling: Where Are We, How Did We Get Here, and Where Are We Going. A Report from the USGS River Ecosystem Modeling Work Group

摘要

This document was developed as an outcome of the USGS River Ecosystem Modeling Work Group. This Work Group was held on Monday, February 11, 2008, as a preconference session to the second USGS Modeling Conference in Orange Beach, Ala. The Work Group agenda (appendix 1) was organized so that participants would first gain a better understanding of the types of models currently being applied to riverine studies within the USGS, then learn about how model outputs are being used by a land management agency, and then use this information during the break-out group session to develop recommendations for advancing the state of the art in river ecosystem modeling within the USGS. One tool developed and distributed to participants before the February 11 session, to help assess the types of models currently being used in river ecosystem modeling in the USGS, was simply a summary list of models. Modelers across the USGS were contacted (appendix 4) and asked to submit a summary sheet for each of the models they currently use or are developing for use in river ecosystem modeling. This survey resulted in the list of 60 models included in appendix 5; the summaries include statistical models, surface- and groundwater models, visualization programs, watershed models, 1-dimension transport models, and 1-dimension, 2-dimension and 3-dimension hydraulic models. While this list is a start, Work Group participants supported the idea that this list be expanded, continually updated, and made available online to foster collaboration among modelers.