Project II.1.1: Physical sentinels
Project Name: II.1.1: Physical sentinels
Project Lead: Modeling team
Project Description
This project is tasked with developing physical sentinels that characterize the integrative state of the CR estuary and plume. Ideally, a sentinel is a single value that integrates many processes and responds to environmental changes. In this way a physical sentinel is a single, easily measured quantity that can signal a significant divergence from the normal state of the CR. Physical sentinel values are calculated using the simulation databases and stored as time series – providing an invaluable resource for correlation analyses.
Fits in program
This effort directly supports our CMOP grand challenges, by providing the metrics used to quantify change in the CR system.
Outcomes
The following physical sentinels are among those that have been defined and evaluated for the simulation databases:
| Physical Sentinel |
Short descriptor |
| Salinity Intrusion Length | This number represents the maximum penetration of salt (typical cut-off of 1psu) along the navigation channel. Many estuarine properties “scale” to this length, allowing estuarine behavior to be normalized. |
| Plume Volume, Area, Depth and Centroid Location | These values represent key macro-characteristics of the CR plume, very sensitive to ocean and river forcing. Multiple cut-off salinities are used to define the plume extent, 28 psu being the most commonly used value. |
The current physical sentinels have been calculated for our estuary-only and river-to-shelf simulation databases. These time-series are publicly accessible through a static web page.
