DEPOMOD Modelling Software
NewDEPOMOD (and the older AutoDEPOMOD) are computer models, developed by SAMS, which predict the impact of fishfarm discharges on the seabed in order to optimise the operation of aquaculture sites to match the environmental capacity.
First developed through research at SAMS in the late 1990s, DEPOMOD particle tracking modelling software has been commercially developed in collaboration with the aquaculture industry and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The initial iteration, AutoDEPOMOD, has been widely used in Scotland for the regulatory monitoring of aquaculture sites for more than a decade, with its successor, NewDEPOMOD, predicted to feature significantly in the future.
NewDEPOMOD incorporates a range of new features including
- >an updated and characterised resuspension process using data from an extensive set of field measurements of erosion, resuspension and transport at farm sites;
- >a new model framework for sediment deposition which allows the model to include varying bathymetry;
- >a redesigned user interface using new file formats for bathymetry, flow and farm discharges;
- >improved predictive abilities for more exposed sites that the global marine fish farming industry is increasingly looking to develop;
- >a simple and intuitive user inferface to generate models of farm sites using standard scenarios quickly and easily;
- >a model that produces conservative estimates of the holding capacity of a proposed site that can be tuned using data collected once a farm enters production to improve predictions, useful for example when planning expansion of an existing farm;
- >the capacity to use hydrodynamic flow field data to incorporate more realistic flow patterns in comparison with a reliance upon a single location.
Intent on delivering further value to customers from the already improved user experience offered by NewDEPOMOD (Version 1.0), dedicated resources have continued to focus on improving existing capability and also adding new functionality. A further updated version of the software, NewDEPOMOD Version 1.1, was released in April 2018, which includes:
- >Creation of a full User Manual for GUI and CMD version of NewDEPOMOD
- >Addition of per cage group feed inputs functionality
- >Addition of over treatment factor to the inputs panel
- >Improvements to tidal ellipse graph, feed inputs graph and surface deposition map functions
- >General operation and functional improvements to benefit the user experience
Research projects continuously provide new information that allow us to further improve the models - currently we are working on improving their performance in exposed sites. Read more...
For background, read our 2016 Refining seabed process models for aquaculture report.
Contact us
For more information about the software, licenses, training and other modelling services please visit the SRSL website, phone us on +44 (0) 1631 559 470 or email us at depomod@srsl.com
