Georgia Water Resources Institute Annual Technical Report FY 2010
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Georgia Water Resources Institute Annual Technical Report FY 2010 Georgia Water Resources Institute Annual Technical Report FY 2010 1 Introduction The Georgia Water Resources Institute (GWRI) aims to provide interdisciplinary research, education, technology transfer, and information dissemination, and works collaboratively with various local, state, and federal agencies. At the state and local levels, GWRI collaborates with and supports the Georgia Environmental Protection Division/Georgia Department of Natural Resources, water and power utilities, environmental organizations and citizen groups, and lake associations. At the national level, GWRI collaborative efforts with the California Energy Commission, California Department of Water Resources, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Finally, GWRI has a significant international research and educational program in Europe, Africa, China, Middle East, and South America with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other international organizations. In all its programs, the Institute strives to bring to bear expertise from a variety of disciplines, including civil and environmental engineering, atmospheric sciences, agriculture, oceanography, forestry, ecology, economics, and public policy. This year's funded activities include: RESEARCH PROJECTS (1) Multi-Scale Investigation of Seawater Intrusion and Application in Coastal Georgia, Jian Luo PI, Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by USGS under grant # 2006P17 (Fund #R9261). (2) Assessing the impacts of a major wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp on mercury levels in resident Macroinvertebrates and Mosquitofish, Darold Batzer PI, University of Georgia, sponsored by USGS under grant #1266663 (Fund #R7113. (3) Temporal and Micro-site Variation in Flow Characteristics in Estuarine Habitats, Donald Webster and Marc Weissburg, sponsored by USGS under grant #1266663 (Fund R7113). (4) Assessment of Endocrine Disruption in Fish and Estrogenic Potency of Waters in Georgia, Robert Bringolf, University of Georgia, sponsored by USGS under grant #1266663 (Fund R7113). (5) Operational Multi-scale Forecast and Reservoir Management in Northern California, Aris Georgakakos PI, Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by NOAA through the Hydrologic Research Center under grant #2006N95. (6) Integrated Forecast and Reservoir Management (INFORM) for Northern California, Phase II: Operational Implementation, Aris Georgakakos PI, Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by California-Nevada River Forecast Center, California Department of Water Resources, California Energy Commission under grant #2006Q15. (7) Technical Assistance in Water Resource Planning, Aris Georgakakos PI, Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by Georgia Department of Natural Resources/ Environmental Protection Division under grant #2006R69. (8) Technical Assistance for Water Resources Planning in the State of Georgia, Aris Georgakakos PI, Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by Georgia Environmental Protection Division under grant #2006Q13. Introduction 1 EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES The Africa Water Resources Institute for Education and Applied Research (AWARE) is a joint institute established by the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) and the University of Pretoria (UP), through the Georgia Water Resources Institute (GWRI) and the University of Pretoria Water Institute (UPWI). This is the first such initiative between major American and African Universities and focuses on interdisciplinary graduate education, applied research, and technology transfer in the areas of water, energy, and environmental resources planning and management. AWARE was officially launched on June 19, 2008, and is based at the UP campus in Pretoria, South Africa. The first AWARE programs include a Joint Masters Degree Program in Water Resources Management and a Professional Continuing Education Program for water and hydropower professionals. PROFESSIONAL AND POLICY IMPACT Georgia: GWRI continues to provide technical assistance to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in relation to the state water planning process. GWRI’s River Basin Planning Tool (RBPT) was developed specifically for this purpose and is now being applied to assess water supply availability and gaps in various Georgia basins. The results are communicated to 12 Water Councils that have been formed across the state. GWRI provides training to state engineers and their contractors who are involved in these assessments. The RBPT is further developed as more specific assessment needs arise in the planning process. In addition to the Georgia Tech River Basin Planning Tool, GWRI has completed a comprehensive study on the impacts of climate change for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin shared with Alabama and Florida. The study indicates that droughts will most likely intensify having serious implications on water supply, energy generation, and ecological flows. The study is now being expanded to include all Georgia basins. California: Similar work, collaboratively with the Hydrologic Research Center in San Diego, has focused on climate change impacts on the Northern California water resources system (including the Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins). While the nature of the changes is different, due to hydrologic significance of snow melt, the findings are equally important regarding the need for mitigation and adaptation measures. With funding from the California Energy Commission and the Department of Water Resources, GWRI and HRC have just initiated a second project phase which aims at finalizing and transferring the forecast-decision tools and evaluating alternative climate and demand change mitigation measures. International: GWRI continues its collaboration with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), helping raise funding for a comprehensive assessment and development program. The program focuses on water, environmental, and energy development, as well as institutional and legal reforms, and is a collaborative effort with the United Nations Development Program and the DRC Ministry of the Environment. The plan was recently presented to the World Bank and is under funding consideration. Introduction 2 Research Program Introduction Research Program Introduction None. Research Program Introduction 1 Multi-Scale Investigation of Seawater Intrusion and Application in Coastal Georgia Multi-Scale Investigation of Seawater Intrusion and Application in Coastal Georgia Basic Information Title: Multi-Scale Investigation of Seawater Intrusion and Application in Coastal Georgia Project Number: 2007GA165G Start Date: 4/1/2008 End Date: 9/30/2011 Funding Source: 104G Congressional District: 5th Research Category: Ground-water Flow and Transport Focus Category: Groundwater, Hydrology, Models Descriptors: Principal Investigators: Jian Luo, Jian Luo Publications 1. Lu, C., Kitanidis, P.K., Luo, J. (2009), Effects of kinetic mass transfer and transient flow conditions on widening mixing zones in coastal aquifers, Water Resour. Res., 45, W12402, doi:10.1029/2008WR007643. 2. Lu, C., Gong, R., Luo, J. (2009), Analysis of stagnation points for a pumping well in recharge areas, J. Hydrol., 373, 442-452. 3. Lu, C., Luo, J. (2010), Boundary condition effects on estimating maximum groundwater withdrawal in coastal aquifers, J. Hydrol., submitted. 4. Lu, C., Luo, J. (2010), Dynamics of freshwater-seawater mixing zone development in dual-domain formations, Water Resour. Res., submitted. 5. Lu, C., Kitanidis, P.K., Luo, J., Mixing enhanced by kinetic mass transfer and dynamic forces in coastal aquifers, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H32C-05, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 14-18, 2009 6. Lu, C., Kitanidis, P.K., Luo, J. (2009), Effects of kinetic mass transfer and transient flow conditions on widening mixing zones in coastal aquifers, Water Resour. Res., 45, W12402, doi:10.1029/2008WR007643. 7. Lu, C., Gong, R., Luo, J. (2009), Analysis of stagnation points for a pumping well in recharge areas, J. Hydrol., 373, 442-452. 8. Lu, C., Luo, J. (2010), Boundary condition effects on estimating maximum groundwater withdrawal in coastal aquifers, J. Hydrol., submitted. 9. Lu, C., Luo, J. (2010), Dynamics of freshwater-seawater mixing zone development in dual-domain formations, Water Resour. Res., submitted. 10. Lu, C., Kitanidis, P.K., Luo, J., Mixing enhanced by kinetic mass transfer and dynamic forces in coastal aquifers, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H32C-05, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 14-18, 2009 11. Lu, C., Du, P., Chen, Y., Luo, J. (2011). Recovery Efficiency of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) with Mass Transfer Limitation, Water Resources Res., (in revision) 12. Chen, Y., Lu, C., Luo, J. (2011). Solute Transport in Transient Divergent Flow, Water Resources Res., (in review). 13. Lu, C., Luo, J., Effects of Aquifer Stratification on Freshwater-Seawater Mixing-Zone Development, EOS Trans., AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H43A-1206, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 13-17, 2010. Multi-Scale Investigation of Seawater Intrusion and Application in Coastal Georgia 1 Report as of FY2010 for 2007GA165G: “ Multi-Scale Investigation of Seawater Intrusion and Application in Coastal Georgia” Students Supported Ph.D. student: Lu, Chunhui, Yiming Chen Journal