Project Grant 02D42623

DESCRIPTION:THIS ACTION APPROVES AN AWARD IN THE AMOUNT OF $398,803 TO SUPPORT THE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S PROJECT TO EXTEND THE BISCAYNE BAY OPERATION MODEL (BBOM), IMPLEMENTING A PLASTIC TRANSPORT AND FATE COMPONENT MODEL (BBLAST) TO PREDICT THE TRAJECTORY, DISTRIBUTION, AND SINKS OF PLASTICS WITHIN THE BAY. THE ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDE ESTIMATING THE PLASTIC TRAJECTORY FROM VARIOUS SOURCES IS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE USING 70% OF EXISTING CARTHE'S CARD AND DRIFTER TRACK DATA TO CALIBRATE AND 30% TO VALIDATE THE MODEL. WE WILL DEFINE SCENARIOS USING WIND, RAIN AND NOAA'S TIDAL DATA, AND SFWMD WATER LEVEL AND TEMPERATURE DATA FOR CATHE'S EXPERIMENTS DURATION IN SEPTEMBER 2016. WE PROPOSE APPLYING BBOM'S LAGRANGIAN-PARTICLE-TRACKING MODULE (BBOM-PT), WHICH HAS BEEN IN OPERATION AND CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1999, ASSUMING THAT THE PLASTICS ARE REPRESENTED BY PARTICLES THAT MOVE ON A PRE-CALCULATED VELOCITY FIELD. THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE A QAPP, PERFORMANCE AND FINAL REPORTS, A WORKSHOP AND STATISTICAL TESTS, INCLUDING FOUR BBLAST SIMULATIONS WITH 4 DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF PLASTIC LOADS AND WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE DELIVERING REAL RESULTS TO PROVIDE FLORIDIANS WITH CLEAN BAY WATER BY PROVIDING: 1) OPERATIONAL BISCAYNE BAY PLASTIC TRACKING AND FATE MODEL (BBLAST) FOR BISCAYNE BAY; 2) FOUR MODEL RUN RESULTS TRACKING PLASTICS DELIVERED BY FIVE SELECTED CANALS INTO BISCAYNE BAY; 3) ESTIMATED MICROPLASTIC LOADS FROM 5 CANALS DRAINING INTO BISCAYNE BAY; 4) MAP OF POTENTIAL PLASTIC ACCUMULATION IN BISCAYNE BAY; 5) EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO REDUCE CURRENT IMPACTS ON THE BAY ECOSYSTEMS, RESULTING FROM A MIAMI-DADE MANAGERS WORKSHOP; 6) COPY OF 2 VIDEOS PRODUCED WITH TELEMUNDO; 7) FIVE PROGRESS REPORTS, ONE MID-TERM REPORT AND A FINAL REPORT. 8) WE WILL REPORT TO THE BISCAYNE BAY TASK FORCE, BISCAYNE BAY SCIENCE COORDINATION GROUP, BISCAYNE BAY REGIONAL RESTORATION COORDINATION TEAM (BBRRCT). 9) FINALLY, WE WILL PREPARE AT LEAST ONE PUBLICATION IN A PEER-REVIEW TECHNICAL JOURNAL. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES ARE THE CITIZENS OF BISCAYNE BAY, FLORIDA, INCLUDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS.ACTIVITIES:.SUBRECIPIENT:NO SUBAWARDS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT.OUTCOMES:.