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Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Remedial strategy of algal proliferation in a regulated river system by integrated hydrological control: an evolutionary modelling framework

Dong-Gyun Hong A D , Kwang-Seuk Jeong A B D , Dong-Kyun Kim C and Gea-Jae Joo A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.

B Institute of Environmental Research & Industry, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.

C Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada.

D The first and second authors Dong-Gyun Hong and Kwang-Seuk Jeong have contributed equally to this research.

E Corresponding author. Email: gjjoo@pusan.ac.kr

Marine and Freshwater Research 65(5) 379-395 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF13004
Submitted: 4 January 2013  Accepted: 9 September 2013   Published: 15 November 2013

Abstract

We simulated water-quality measures in a regulated river system (the lower Nakdong River) under simultaneous discharge control at upriver dams and an estuarine barrage with the goal of reducing phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a concentration). We used genetic programming (GP) to create a rule-set-based predictive model for the chlorophyll a concentration based on 16 years (1994–2009) of meteorological, hydrological, and limnological data. The rule-set model used eight variables, including water temperature, dam and estuarine barrage discharge, phosphate and silica concentrations, and accurately predicted the phytoplankton biomass (determination coefficients, r2, for training and test data were 0.52 and 0.45, respectively). According to sensitivity and scenario analyses, a larger water volume resulting from increased discharge from upriver dams and decreased discharge from an estuarine barrage would reduce chlorophyll a concentrations at the study site. This result provided ample evidence that simultaneous manipulation of dam and estuarine discharge rates could effectively increase river flow and flush aggregated algal populations downstream. Additionally, we considered that even small increases in river flow could play a role in diluting phytoplankton biomass during the dry winter season when estuarine discharge remains low. These two hydrological mechanisms could be used as selective strategies for water-resource management.

Additional keywords: discharge control, evolutionary computation, multipurpose dams and estuarine barrage, Nakdong River, regulated river, simulation, water quality.


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