Water Temperature Help

Temperatures must be input or calculated for Julian Days ranging from day 0 to 364. Day 0 is Dec. 31 and Day 1 is January 1. Temperatures are in Celsius. You can Modify temperatures by mixing these methods for flexible control. There are several ways to generate a water temperature profile.

Calculate Temperatures method

You are free to enter any parameters you choose in this flexible sinusoidal model. On the web page, each of the parameter names is followed by "temp" For example the parameter cctemp on the web page is the cc parameter in the equation:

For the Methow River, temperatures are generated according to a US Fish and Wildlife model. Temperature records have been collected at a number of sites along the Methow for several years by different agencies including the US Geological Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Winthrop National Fish Hatchery (Mullan 1992). Mullan uses a general harmonic function to model river temperature in the Methow River of the form:

• elev = elevation in meters
• t = time in days Julian day, January 1 = 1
• b0 = 12.25 with b1 and elevation, creates mean temperature
• b1 = -0.009
• b2 = 13.0323
• b3 = -0.016
• b4 = 248 phase shift
• cc = 2 pi /365 converts days to radians

The alterable parameters that appear on the web page have got "temp" postpended to indicate that they are for calculating temperatures. If you simply choose the Calculate Temperatures button you will automatically generate the temperature profile for the Spring Chinook Index spawning area in the Methow River.

Upload Temperatures method

Designate a file to upload with temperatures. The requirements for the format are the same as for the Input Temperatures method.

Input Temperatures method

You can type in or copy and paste temperatures into the Input Temperatures text-area. The following are required for creating the temperature profile:

• Each line should have a Julian day and a temperature. E.g. "32 2.7" indicates that on February 1, the temperature was 2.7 degrees Celsius.
• Missing values are interpolated between days supplied.
• If day 0 and day 364 are not included, the first and last days of the series are used, respectively.
• Create a constant temperature environment by entering a single day and a single temperature for that day.

Keep Temperature method

Choose "Keep Current Temperature Profile" to use same temperature profile for future run. Verify current temperatures using the "View Current Temperature Profile" option.

Modifying temperatures

You can modify the temperatures being used by clicking "View Current Temperature Profile". When the page loads (into a separate window) save it to you computer, modify the temperatures as needed, then use the "Upload" method to deliver it to the server.