Afshin Shabani 2018

Afshin Shabani is a Ph.D. student in Earth System Science and Policy program at the University of North Dakota. He holds a Master of Science degree in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System form the university of Tehran, Iran, and Bachelor degree in watershed engineering, Gonbad Kavos university, Iran. He is interested in environmental studies and his present research is focused on modeling and monitoring Devils Lake water quantity and quality.Email: Afshin.Shabani@und.eduPhone: 701-335-3129

Examining the Impact of Devils Lakes Outlets on Flood Risk and Water Quality of the Sheyenne River

• A coupled SWAT and CE-QUAL-W2 model was developed to simulate Devils Lake water levels and sulfate distribution.
• The coupled SWAT and CE-QUAL-W2 model showed that sulfate concentration in Devils Lake increased from west to east, which made the operation of the east outlet more of a concern for degrading the water quality in the Sheyenne River.
• A SWAT model was developed for the Sheyenne River watershed to simulate daily discharge.
• The Sheyenne River SWAT model was linked to the Devils Lake coupled SWAT and CE-QUAL-W2 model to simulate the impact of diverted water on the river discharge and sulfate concentration.
• The results of the hydrologic and water quality modeling showed that the impact of the outlet operation on the Sheyenne River discharge was within confines of two-year flood (36 m3 s -1), while the river sulfate concentration increased from 125 mg l-1 to ≥ 750 mg l-1.
• Using an optimization model and actual outlet schedule an optimal management was determined, which mitigated the Sheyenne River discharge and sulfate concentration to ≤ 26 m 3 s -1 and ≤ 650 mg l-1, respectively.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Papers:

Tahmasebi Nasab, M., Grimm, K., Bazrkar, M., Zeng, L., Shabani, A., Zhang, X., and Chu, X. 2018. SWAT modeling of non-point

Conference/Seminar Presentations:

Shabani, A, Zhang, X., Ell, M., and Dodd, T.P. 2018. Examining the impact of Devils Lake outlets on flood risk of the Sheyenne River. Bismarck, ND Water Quality Monitoring Conference, March 6-8, 2018, Bismarck, ND.

Shabani, A., Zhang, X., Chu, X., Zheng H., and Dodd, T.P. 2018. Improving Devils Lake outlets management to reduce environmental impacts on the Sheyenne River. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 10-14, 2018, Washington D.C.

Xiaodong Zhang
Earth System Science & Policy
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Email: xiaodong.zhang2@UND.edu