GEMCO is a generic computer modeling system which was developed and sponsored by Cefic LRI (project ECO3B: “Generic Estuary Modelling System to Evaluate Transport, Fate and Impact of Contaminants”) in collaboration with Deltares, IFREMER and IVM, in order to calculate the environmental concentrations of contaminants in a estuary, food web uptake, and fluxes from estuaries to open waters.
GEMCO model (2-D, extendable to 3-D) has been adapted to specific estuaries, taking into account the range of values found for each of the bio-chemical parameters, the geomorphic variables and predefined emissions originated from land and sea based resources. It is then extended with a marine food chain module and impact assessment procedures in order to determine the risk and fluxes of contaminants through the different trophic levels in a schematic food web. The model provides concentration levels of contaminants in estuaries for both sediment and water and also information on contaminant fluxes to open waters.
The ‘Generic Estuary Model for Contaminants’ (GEMCO) was specifically designed for the purpose of predicting the environmental concentrations associated with chemical production, use and disposal. GEMCO is an easy-to-use tool which can be used to determine the concentration of chemicals in sediment and water in a schematised estuary and adjacent marine region as well as the risk and fluxes of contaminants through the different trophic levels in a simplified food web. The model contains more than 50 input parameters related to the description of the hydraulics, geometry, emission and the chemical and environmental conditions.
Click here to download the GEMCO set-up programme. A GEMCO user manual is also available.
The GEMCO tool is no longer compatible with current operating systems.
