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Abstract

A mathematical model provides the ability to predict the contaminant concentration levels of a river. The advection-diffusion equation is used as a first approximation for such a model. The validity of the model's results are compared with data gathered and compiled by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. A portion of the Mississippi River beginning at a site in the Southeast portion of Saint Paul, Minnesota and ending at a bridge near La Crosse, Wisconsin was used. The focus was to create the mathematical model and to compare its estimations against the available data on this portion of the river. Proceeding downstream, a river's contaminant concentrations can both increase and decrease due to factors such as tributaries, weather, and agricultural runoff. To fit the assumptions of a steady state advection-diffusion model, the contaminant concentration values that were utilized for the model were monotone increasing or decreasing above and below the tributary.

Author Bio

I am currently a teaching assistant at the University of South Dakota. I am currently pursuing an M.A. in mathematics here at USD. This paper has evolved out of my honors thesis which was a requirement in the USD Honors Program. Since I was a math major as an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. degree, I felt that a thesis in the area of mathematics made the most sense. This thesis gave me a small taste of what real research is like. I plan to finish my M.A. here at USD and start on a PhD program. I would like to become a full professor at a college university and teach mathematics for the rest of my life. In addition, I am attempting to acquire a summer internship with the federal government as a mathematician and/or an analyst. In my spare time, I am a World War II Aviation Historian.

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