Calibration and Verification of a Tidal Prism Eutrophication Model for the Lynnhaven Bay (U.S.A)

A tidal prism eutrophication model, an one-dimensional intertidal model, is developed to study water quality conditions at small coastal basins and tidal creeks. The model simulates the physical transport processes using the concept of tidal flushing. The concept is simple and straightforward, and thus is ideal for small coastal basins with complex geometry. The model, having twenty-four state variables in the water column, simulates salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, three algal groups, and the cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and silica. The model is applied to the Lynnhaven Bay, a small coastal basin of Chesapeake Bay in U.S.A. The model is calibrated using the field data collected in 1994, and then is verified using the independently collected data in 1980. The model overall gives a good reproduction of the field data, partly owing to the data collected from the field surveys specifically designed for the model application. This paper presents the procedure, and the results of the model calibration and verification.