Title: A control model for the mouth of the River Murray, South Australia

Authors: Christopher Dietha Rijnks, Robert P. Bourman, J. Elford, Ross A. Frick

Addresses: School of Mathematics, University of South Australia, Australia. School of Mathematics, University of South Australia, Australia. Faculty of Applied Mathematics, University of Twente, The Netherlands. School of Environmental and Recreation Management, University of South Australia, Australia

Abstract: The River Murray drains one-seventh of the Australian continent, but in 1991 the mouth closed for three months. The last 1000 km of the river system is controlled by weirs and barrages, and consequently it is feasible to use river flow to control the size of the river mouth. This paper demonstrates how recursive estimation techniques have been applied to the historical time series of monthly flows, tide levels, wind speeds and directions, and salinity levels in the estuarine lake, to produce a strategy for the opening of the barrages that will control the size of the mouth while maintaining acceptable levels of lake salinity.

Keywords: Murray mouth; river flow; recursive estimation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.1999.002290

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 1999 Vol.12 No.2/3, pp.165-178

Published online: 13 Aug 2003 *

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