Turbidity Model for Ashokan Reservoir, New York: Case Study

Abstract

Terrigenous inorganic particles delivered during runoff events cause problems of high turbidity in many lakes and reservoirs. A turbidity model, composed of a two-dimensional hydrothermal/transport submodel and a turbidity submodel, is developed and tested for Ashokan Reservoir, New York, that experiences elevated turbidity levels following runoff events. A robotic monitoring network, rapid profiling instrumentation, and individual particle analyses are used to support the modeling, by specifying turbidity loads and in-reservoir patterns and features of the particles that guided representation of settling. The turbidity-causing particles are clay minerals,