Prolonged Bug Flow Releases from Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon Dam is a great help in controlling water supply for the Colorado River Basin; however, it comes with a myriad of environmental and ecological consequences. Downstream of Glen Canyon Dam there is a low diversity and population of benthic macroinvertebrates due to the thermal stratification of Lake Powell and hourly fluctuation of the river levels. Benthic macroinvertebrate populations are an important factor in the overall health of a river’s ecosystem. Ted Kennedy has proposed a flow release pattern that has been implemented this year that could result in higher production of benthic macroinvertebrates. A model was developed in Python that produces an optimal release strategy that maximizes the duration of Bug Flow release for a High, Medium, and Low release types. The High release type resulted in 21 consecutive days of Bug Flow releases, Medium resulted in 12, and Low resulted in 3.

格兰峡谷大坝在调节科罗拉多河流域水资源方面发挥了巨大作用；然而，它亦伴随着诸多环境与生态后果。格兰峡谷大坝下游，由于鲍威尔湖的热分层现象和河流水位的每小时波动，底栖大型无脊椎动物种类多样性及种群数量均较低。底栖大型无脊椎动物种群是河流生态系统整体健康状况的重要指标。泰德·肯尼迪今年提出了一种流量释放模式，该模式有望提高底栖大型无脊椎动物的生产量。一个以Python语言开发的模型被构建出来，旨在产生最优的释放策略，以最大化高、中、低三种释放类型下的虫流释放持续时间。高释放类型导致了连续21天的虫流释放，中等释放类型持续了12天，而低释放类型则持续了3天。