Evaluation of Multiple Shallow-water Systems Analysis to Improve the Assessment of Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Water Quality Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) is announcing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for applicants to provide the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partners with proposals for the application of shallow-water models to improve Chesapeake Bay shallow-water simulations of dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, suspended solids, and water clarity in order to better understand the impacts of alternative management strategies on water quality and living resources in the tidal Chesapeake Bay. The RFP is also seeking proposals for the evaluation of the multiple, developed shallow-water models. Over the course of the two-year project, multiple modeling teams will be funded to apply different shallow-water models using common forcing conditions over a three– to five–year-base-case run at specified shallow-water sites. EPA will also fund an independent model evaluation team that will use state-of-the-art metrics to assess the relative skill of these shallow-water models based on available CBP water quality and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) monitoring data. The independent model evaluation team will also compare the results from a series of nutrient and sediment change scenarios and analyze causes and impacts of differences among the shallow-water models. Applicants may apply for either or both activities, but EPA will fund successful applicants for one activity or the other, not both.
