On the morning of Apr. 20th, 2017, Charles S. Melching, a professor from Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Marquette University in US and Prof. WANG Zhaoyin from Tsinghua University visited NHRI. Prof. Melching made a presentation titled Modeling the Water Quality Impacts of the Ecological Separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins at Chicago for Invasive Species Control. The presentation was chaired by Prof. LU Yongjun, Director of River and Harbor Engineering Department. Vice President DAI Jiqun and more than 70 staffs and graduate students from Hydrology and Water Resources Department, Hydraulic Engineering Department, River and Harbor Engineering Department, Research Center for Eco-Environment attended this presentation.

Prof. Melching firstly introduced the geographical connection features between the Lake Michigan and Mississippi River in Chicago, and illustrated the general situations, development history and distribution of artificial channels in this area. He also explained how the Chicago waterway system such as the channels connecting the Lake Michigan and Mississippi River operated under various conditions. Then taking Asian carp as an example, Prof. Melching introduced the aquatic invasive species in recent years, and the species classification according to their distribution in the Lake Michigan and Mississippi River. In order to prevent the further spread of these species, people have implemented many special technical means to carry out ecological isolation, such as electric sluice gates, fish barriers, etc. Finally, Prof. Melching focused on the analysis of water quality changes such as the index changes of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and temperature in the waterway system, and explained their change reasons.

After the impressive presentation, Prof. WANG Zhaoyin made a brief explanation of the presentation contents to the participants. Then a discussion was held between Prof. Melching and attendees, which enriched the knowledge of NHRI researchers, and provided more scientific research ideas for the participants.