Model of Mississippi River Pool: Mass Transport

Abstract

The gravity and wind‐driven flow in a river impoundment is simulated using a network of interconnected channels. The forcing wind is specified by a step‐function, and the response is calculated by quasi‐steady state simulation for each timestep. The transport of a conservative dissolved material through the system is simulated by a cells‐in‐series approach with appropriately sized subdivisions to account for dispersion. The model is formulated and applied to Pool No. 2 of the Mississippi River, and a comparison with dye tracer data is given. A review of some field studies showing the importance of weather dependent processes in a shallow river impoundment is also presented.