North West Shelf Joint Environmental Management Study:InVitro Inputs - Contaminant uptake

Farm A in Hashmi et al. (2002) was used to calibrate uptake for the modelled prawns, and the intent was to use Farm B to validate our model of uptake. The contaminants selected were lead, cadmium and copper. These contaminants were selected mainly because they were metals we were already considering to use in NWS-InVitro. Parameters were chosen for the uptake rates of the metals which gave rise to a profile comparable to that for the prawns taken from Farm A. The simulation was run for six years, during which time the contaminate output levels were held constant. Currents were held constant in hourly intervals, as were the plumes they advected and diffused. The simulation tracked the levels of contaminants in the water and in the prawns that passed through the region affected by the plume. A piecewise linear function was introduced to allow the rate of uptake to vary in a controlled way. With much validation, the model provides the best available representation of contaminant impacts on prawns in Nickol Bay. This facilitated relatively straightforward reproduction of the uptake of contaminants. Abstract extracted from detailed documentation