Modeling the spatial dynamics of algal community in the lake Taihu by integrating Salmo and Selfe modules

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Liming Chen, Wenqiang Wu

Tuesday 30 june 2015

17:30 - 17:45h at Amazon (level 1)

Themes: (T) Hydro-environment, (ST) Ecohydraulics and ecohydrology

Parallel session: 7G. Environment - Ecosystem

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The study developed an eco-hydrodynamic model by coupling the lake ecosystem model SALMO with the three-dimensional hydrodynamic model SELFE. The integrated model was applied to simulate the water level changes in Lake Taihu from 2009 to 2011, the flow field characteristics under different wind conditions, and the spatial-temporal variations of phosphate, nitrate, dissolved oxygen and algae biomass of three functional groups (diatoms, green algae and blue-green algae), before being used to analyze the interactive relationships between algae growth and environmental factors with scenario analyses. It showed that, the model could well simulate the water level changes in three years, the trends of simulated water quality parameters for each site were generally in agreement with the observations, and controlling the internal phosphate release appeared to be an effective way to attenuate the degree of eutrophication and to restrain algal blooms, indicating that the integrated eco-hydrodynamic model could be a promising tool to provide basis for the treatment of eutrophication and the management of algal blooms in Lake Taihu.