Week 2-SELFE Model

            Week 2 interning at CMOP has been much more relaxed now that I have a better grasp of the goals for using the circulation model, SELFE, to generate figures and evaluate the changes in available habitat opportunity in the Columbia River. This week I was able to develop and correctly execute a processing strategy to run the necessary scripts that yield the four physical habitat parameters (elevation, temperature, salinity, and velocity) considered critical to salmon and lamprey survival.

            Previously researchers, such as Michela Burla, have used the same parameters in their models of the Columbia River Estuary; however, we are going to use different values of those same parameters in order to evaluate the critical habitat opportunity available to salmon. This means that the elevation range will change from 10cm-2m to 15cm-2m and that the value for critical velocity will decrease from <30 to <25cm/s.

            Not only have we changed the values for salmon, but another intern, Cynthia, and I have also narrowed down rough filter criteria for the lamprey in the Columbia River Estuary. These values are still based off of the four physical parameters used in the SELFE model, but seeing as how lamprey have different habitat requirements from salmon, we are exploring the idea of incorporating other parameters such as sediment transport into the overall model.