Mathematical simulation of temperatures in deep impoundments: verification tests of the Water Resources Engineers, Inc. model - Horsetooth and Flaming Gorge Reservoirs

Successful use of predictive mathematical models requires verification of the accuracy of the models by applying them to existing situations where the prediction can be compared with reality. A Corps of Engineers' modification of a deep reservoir thermal stratification model developed by Water Resources Engineers, Inc., was applied to two existing Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs for verification. Diffusion coefficients used for the Corps' Detroit Reservoir were found to apply to Horsetooth Reservoir in Colorado, for which very food computer input data were available. The Detroit diffusion coefficients gave a reasonable simulation of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming and Utah, which has very complex and variable physical characteristics and for which only average-quality computer input data were available.