COMPASS Comprehensive Passage Model is being developed by scientists from throughout the Pacific Northwest, led by NOAA. The purpose of the model is to predict the effects of alternative operations of Snake and Columbia River dams on salmon survival rates, expressed both within the hydrosystem and latent effects which may occur outside the hydrosystem. Accordingly, the model has the following capabilities: 1) realistically simulate survival and travel time through the hydrosystem under variable river conditions; 2) produce results in agreement with available data, particularly PIT-tag data; 3) allow users to simulate the effects of alternative management actions; 4) operate on sub-seasonal time steps; 5) produce an estimate of uncertainty associated with model results; 6) estimate hydrosystem-related effects that may occur outside of the hydrosystem.

COMPASS Literature

Comprehensive Passage (COMPASS) Model - version 2.0 Review DRAFT manual, July 2019 (pdf)

Comprehensive Passage (COMPASS) Model - version 1.1 Review DRAFT manual, February 2008 (pdf)

Zabel, R. W., J. Faulkner, S. G. Smith, J. J. Anderson, C. Van Holmes, N. Beer, S. Iltis, J. Krinke, G. Fredicks, B. Bellerud, J. Sweet and A. Giorgi. 2008. Comprehensive Passage (COMPASS) Model: a model of downstream migration and survival of juvenile salmonids through a hydropower system. Hydrobiologia 609(1):289-300.

COMPASS Point of Contact

Jim Faulkner, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, Seattle

Current Applications of COMPASS by Columbia Basin Research

• Inseason Migratory Forecasts - Predicts the arrival distributions of stocks of outmigrating juvenile salmon at several monitoring sites along the Snake and Columbia Rivers. The tool uses "real time" information about the current status of the runs along with current hydrographic information to predict the future progress of the migrating fish. This is a joint effort of the RealTime and COMPASS models.
• Inseason Total Dissolved Gas (TDG) Forecasts
• Inseason Temperature Forecasts - A temperature algorithm was developed for the Inseason Forecasts to predict the current year's water temperature based on historical data, year-to-date data, and a flow forecast. Inseason flow forecasts are courtesy of Bonneville Power Administration. Temperature forecasts are used as input to COMPASS model runs for TDG and juvenile migration forecasts.