18. SPARROW modelling of Great Lakes water basin
Authority | International Joint Commission, International Watershed Commission |
Applies to | Great Lakes Basin |
Prepared by | International Joint Commission, US Geological Survey, National Research Council of Canada, Environment Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Statistics Canada |
Submitted to/publication requirements | Report will be published by IJC; currently awaiting peer review. |
Due date/ frequency | Publication forthcoming; not yet released. |
Minimum data requirements | SPARROW is a binational, water quality model (Spatially-Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes). "The model relates in-stream water-quality measurements to spatially referenced characteristics of watersheds, including contaminant sources and factors influencing terrestrial and aquatic transport. SPARROW empirically estimates the origin and fate of contaminants in river networks and quantifies uncertainties in model predictions." |
Issues/ drawbacks | May not cover the entire GGH; focuses on the Great Lakes, rather than inland water systems in southern Ontario. |
Other information | The purpose of the model is to estimate regional contaminant loading and quantify sources, using a harmonized hydrographic transboundary data set. |