There is no existing three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of San Diego Bay. A two dimensional, depth-averaged hydrodynamic model of the bay has been developed by the USGS working with SDSC. This model is known as TRIM2D. It is currently being augmented by the US Navy to analyze the effects of dredging on the general circulation of the bay. The 2D model is not adequate to look for smaller scale effects within the water column since the two dimensional analysis treats the water column as a single layer.
We have already obtained the bathymetry of the bay from the Navy and a three-dimensional computer code from the USGS in Reston, Virginia. We have recruited the developers of the model as collaborators to provide technical assistance as needed during the course of the implementation for San Diego Bay. This model will be executed on the C90 and will be ported, for comparative purposes, to a suitably capable workstation.
We have chosen the Ecom-Si computer code. The Ecom-Si model is a three-dimensional, hydrodynamic model which will be augmented to provide output of water quality parameters. The quantitative output of this model will be used as input to the visual, 3D model of the bay which we have already begun devlopment of . Representative visual results can be found in work performed to visualize salinity plumes. This model will be augmented to incorporate water quality parameters and integrated with a model of the watershed adjacent to the bay. This will enable the analysis of point and non-point source runoff and the fate and transport of fluid and solid phase components in the circulation of the bay.
Once this model is implemented and validated, predictive analyses will be undertaken on a research basis to investigate alternative resource management schemes. This task will be undertaken with the recognition that this work is exploratory and experimental in nature and represents the state-of-the-art in environmental analysis.