Moment-Based Calculation of Parameters for the Storage Zone Model for River Dispersion

Theoretical methods have been developed to calculate values of parameters of the storage zone model for river mixing. Analytical solutions of the Laplace-transformed equations of the storage zone model are related to the observed concentration distribution in order to determine model parameters in both the moment matching method and the maximum likelihood method, which were developed in this study. The results obtained by comparison with experimental data show that the parameters calculated by the moment matching method are in good agreement with the observed values of storage zone model parameters, whereas results from the maximum likelihood method and several existing methods are not in good agreement with the experimentally observed values. Dispersion data from natural streams show that the calculated concentration curves from the numerical solutions of the storage zone model with the parameters calculated by the moment matching method fit the observed concentration curves very well. It can be concluded that parameters of the storage zone model calculated using the moment matching method can properly explain the natural dispersion processes in real streams.