MONERIS

General Information
Acronym of the model	MONERIS
Full name of the model	Modelling nutrient emissions in river systems
Model components	Subpart of Ecosystem
Supported platforms	Windows
Programming Language	C#
Still maintained	Yes, by: Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin / RiSyM-Lab (Dr. Markus Venohr)
Most recent version	Version 3.2
Model structure
Executables are available
2D (horizontal)
Other: Fixed grid (Eulerian)
Model description
Model objective	– modelling temporal and spatial variability of nutrient emissions and loads in rivers systems - quantification of pathway and sources of nutrients - impacts of river basin management and global change
Specific application	– nutrient emissions and management, e.g. at the river Danube - modelling at regional (e.g. German model regions in the RESI-project) and continental (e.g. European catchments in the MARS-project) - Impact analysis and management options - Climate-change: BAUM, MARS, Innovate - Reconstruction of background concentrations in surface waters
Background knowledge needed to run model	- process understanding (physical, chemical and biological processes in river systems) for data / result interpretation - profound knowledge of standard software applications - standard software for data processing, specifically GIS software - data bases (Access, PostgreSQL)
Basic procedures	a) processing input data for modelling unit and for states / countries; optionally, runoff calibration if distributed values unavailable b) setup data base, optionally adjusting model constants (calibration) c) validation of model results against observed nutrient loads
MONERIS is a nutrient emission model to be used for regional, national and international studies of water quality in catchment areas. It was developed at IGB-Berlin, to address three goals: - Identification of the sources and pathways of nutrient emissions at the analytical unit (smallest calculation unit) level - Analysis of the transport and the retention of nutrients in river systems - Provision of a framework for examining management alternatives (scenarios) MONERIS is a very flexible system, and is therefore most suitable to cover these demands, and to support analysis at a variety of scales. Nutrient emissions of point and diffuse sources into surface waters are evaluated in the model. Point data (e.g. waste water treatment plants), areal information (e.g. soil data), and administrative information (like statistical data for districts), are integrated. The application of geographic information systems (GIS) is essential. Modelling scenarios allows calculation of the efficiency of management measures for reaching prescribed water quality standards (such as target concentrations of surface water quality). The MONERIS approach provides an assignment of the measures applied to the analytical units. In the model, suitable measures are pre-defined which can be selected by the user, either as single or combined measures. The measures can be based on analytical units or cover larger areas. Therewith, the resulting effect of measures on loads in the catchment can be tested. By integrating numerous of possible components into the system, complex analysis of effects of measures can be obtained in a short time.
Link to website/manual	Webpage Manual Research paper onf methods and background
Model characteristics
Input variables	Obligatory: – Spatial input data: ° river network ° catchment boundaries ° digital elevation model ° land-use ° Physico-chemical soil parameters (e.g. soil type, soil loss maps) ° precipitation + evaporation ° hydrogeological map ° hydrometeorology ° atmospheric deposition ° administrative areas ° population data (e.g. amount, density) ° location of tile drainages - for calculating point source emissions: ° inhabitant equivalent connected to WWTP ° volume of wastewater discharge (m³/a) ° effluent concentrations discharged into receiving waters (t/a - water quality data of surface waters: ° Ammonia (NH4-N) ° Nitrite (NO2-N) ° Nitrate (NO3-N) ° Total Nitrogen (TN) ° Phosphates (PO4-P) ° Total Phosphorus (TP) - Administrative-statistical data: ° Inventory of waste water treatment plants ° Length of sewer system network ° population connected to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and sewers ° population connected to sewers only ° population without connection to sewers ° Share of tile drainages ° Nitrogen surplus of the soil nutrient balance ° Phosphorus accumulation in the soil - Monitoring data ° Data from water quality measuring points ° Data from water discharge measuring points
Input file format	Access, PostgreSQL
Output variables	– loads and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus - runoff components (e.g. baseflow, interflow,..) - path specific emissions - source specific emissions - landuse specific emissions - area specific emissions
Output file format	.csv, Access / .txt
Biogeochemical model components	– Nitrogen: TN, DON, DIN - Phosphorus: TP, DP
Model structure/mathematical framework	semiempirical / process oriented
Temporal resolution	monthly, annualy, long-term (mean)
Minimal spatial resolution	theoretical: 1 km²; validated: ~ 25 km²
Variables needing calibration	discharge / runoff retention
Has successfully been used in
Climate Change Scenario	e.g. Europe (MARS), Danube, China (Guanting), FGG Elbe, Havel catchment (BAUM), São Francisco (Innovate), GLOWA-Elbe
Shallow Lake/Reservoir	Guanting (input to reservoir)
Oligotrophic Water	Athabasca (Canada)
Mesotrophic Water	various
Eutrophic Water	various
Management Support	Danube, Europe (MARS), Mongolia (Khara basin, MoMo), Nahe / Stever (RESI, OSCAR), Havel (Nitrolimit), AQUATAG, AGRUM, German coastline (RADOST), FGG Elbe, São Francisco (Innovate)
Countries in which the model has been applied	specifically Germany, European countries, China, Mongolia, Brazil, Canada
Which institutes have applied the model	– Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin / Germany (by Behrendt and Venohr) - Technical University Vienna / Austria - University of Aegean, Mytilene / Greece
Accessibility
Open-to-Use, GUI
Available tools for pre- and post-processing	no specific tools required, except from GIS
Support	– Manual - Dr. Markus Venohr: m.venohr@igb-berlin.de
Can be coupled to the following models	– QSIM - SWIM - GLOBWB - PhytoBasinRisk
How can someone get access to this model	on request: m.venohr@igb-berlin.de
Miscellaneous
Comments	Requirements: - Each application needs a careful consideration, if the expectations of the obtained simulation results are appropriate with regard to the available input data and the particular features of the simulated river system. - The reliability of the model results depends on the quality of input data as well as the methodic approaches which were chosen to acquire and describe the relevant processes in the specific river system. - System requirements ° Software MONERIS 3.0 (System software: Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 7; Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0) ° MONERIS Import tool (ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 Service Pack 1 whit .Net Support; ArcGIS 9.3.1 (also supported), Spatial Analyst extension) ° Hardware (3 GB RAM memory (4 GB or more is recommended; about 100 MB free hard disk (without data); display resolution of 1024 × 768) - For more information about preferred Hardware / Software Requirements see the manual.
Useful tricks and hints	– Moneris is modular, the standard installation comes with modules for nitrogen, phosphorus, new agents (other substances, not yet considered by the model) hydrology, montly calculations, retention as Windows DLL files, new or updated modules can be copied to a system folder and are automatically recognized - Moneris does currently not explicitly consider biological processes
MONERIS-homepage Recent developer: Dr. Markus Venohr (m.venohr@igb-berlin.de)
Form was updated: 2018-09-28

Reference list:

Selection of MONERIS-puplications:
- Malago, Anna; Venohr, Markus; Gericke, Andreas; Vigiak, Olga; Bouraoui, Faycal; Grizzetti, Bruna (2015) Modelling nutrient pollution in the Danube River Basin: a comparative study of SWAT, MONERIS and GREEN models. JRC technical reports.

- Hirt, Ulrike; Mahnkopf, Judith; Gadegast, Mathias; Czudowski, Lukas; Mischke, Ute; Heidecke, Claudia; Schernewski, Gerald; Venohr, Markus (2014) Reference conditions for rivers of the German Baltic Sea catchment: reconstructing nutrient regimes using the model MONERIS. Regional Environmental Change.

- Venohr, Markus; Hirt, Ulrike; Hofmann, Jürgen; Opitz, Dieter; Gericke, Andreas; Wetzig, Annett; Natho, Stephanie; Neumann, Franziska; Hürdler, Jens; Matranga, Marisa; Mahnkopf, Judith; Gadegast, Mathias; Behrendt, Horst (2011) Modelling of Nutrient Emissions in River Systems – MONERIS – Methods and Background. Internat. Rev. Hydrobiol.

- for more publications see:
http://www.moneris.igb-berlin.de/index.php/publications.html