A Numerical Modeling Approach to Predict the Effect of a Storm Surge Barrier on Hydrodynamics and Long-Term Transport Processes in a Partially Mixed Estuary

Du, Jiabi; Shen, Jian; Bilkovic, Donna Marie; Hershner, Carlton; Sisson, Mac

doi:10.1007/s12237-016-0175-0

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Age of a water parcel at a given location is defined as the time elapsed since the parcel enters the defined water body through one of the defined boundaries (Deleersnijder et al, ; Takeoka, ; Zimmerman, ). Water age was calculated using the method in Delhez et al (), which has been widely employed for many estuaries (Du et al, ; Karna & Baptista, ; Shen & Wang, ; Zhang et al, ). The freshwater age is computed based on two variables, the tracer concentration C and age concentration α .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Baroclinic Processes on Flushing Characteristics in a Highly Stratified Estuarine System, Mobile Bay, Alabama

Shen

Dzwonkowski

et al. 2018

JGR Oceans

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Flushing of an estuary quantifies the overall water exchange between the estuary and coastal ocean and is crucially important for water quality as well as biological and geochemical processes within the system. Flushing times and freshwater age in Mobile Bay were numerically calculated under realistic and various controlled forcing conditions. Their responses to external forcing were explained by the three-dimensional characteristics of general circulation in the system. The flushing time ranges from 10 to 33 days under the 25th-75th percentile river discharges, nearly half of the previous estimates based on barotropic processes only, suggesting the important contribution of baroclinic processes. Their influence, quantified as the "new ocean influx," is on the same order of the river discharge under low to moderate river discharge conditions. The baroclinic influence increases and then decreases with increasing river discharge, aligning with the response of horizontal density gradient. By enhancing the net influx from the ocean mainly through density-driven circulation, baroclinic processes contribute to reduce flushing times. The three-dimensional circulation, which differs greatly between the wet and dry seasons, explains the temporal and spatial variations of the flushing characteristics. Wind forcing influences the three-dimensional circulation in the system with easterly and northerly winds tending to reduce the flushing time, while southerly and westerly winds the opposite.There are commonly two classes of methods to estimate this timescale, one based on volume and flux and the other based on time series of tracer concentrations. The first class of approaches has been widely DU ET AL.4518

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Baroclinic Processes on Flushing Characteristics in a Highly Stratified Estuarine System, Mobile Bay, Alabama

Shen

Dzwonkowski

et al. 2018

JGR Oceans

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“…Changes in residual circulation were known to crucially affect saltwater intrusion and residence time [28,51,52]. Meyers et al [53] documented that deepening the channel increased the magnitude of the residual circulation in a coastal plain estuary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Salt Transport and Residence Time to Geomorphologic Changes in an Estuarine System

Liu

2020

Water

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Anthropogenic changes in tidal estuaries have significantly altered bathymetry and topography over the past half century. The geomorphic-driven changes in estuarine hydrodynamics and salt transport remain unclear. To explore this issue, a SELFE (Semi-implicit Eulaerian-Lagrangian Finite Element) -based model was developed and utilized in a case study in the Danshui River, Taiwan. The model was calibrated and validated using observed water level, current, and salinity data from 2015, 2016, and 2017. The performance of the SELFE model corresponded well to the measured data. Furthermore, the validated model was utilized to analyze the hydrodynamics, residual current, limit of salt intrusion, and residence time under the predevelopment (1981) and present (2015) conditions. The predicted results revealed that the time lag of water surface elevation at both high tide and low tide under the present condition was approximately 0.5–2 h shorter under the predevelopment condition. The residual circulation under the predevelopment condition was stronger than under the present condition for low flow, causing the limit of salt intrusion to extend further upstream under the predevelopment condition compared to the limit of salt intrusion under the present condition. The calculated residence time under the predevelopment condition was longer than the residence time under the present condition. The freshwater discharge input is a dominating factor affecting the salt intrusion and residence time in a tidal estuary. A regression correlation between the maximum distance of salt intrusion and freshwater discharge and a correlation between residence time and freshwater discharge were established to predict the limit of salt intrusion and residence time under the predevelopment and present conditions with different scenarios of freshwater discharge input.

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“…EFDC uses a boundary‐fitted curvilinear grid in the horizontal and sigma grids in the vertical. The model configuration and boundary condition are the same as those employed in Hong and Shen () and Du et al (). The bathymetry is shown in Figure 1a.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Riverine Material From Multiple Rivers in the Chesapeake Bay: Important Control of Estuarine Circulation on the Material Distribution

Shen

2017

JGR Biogeosciences

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Driven by estuarine circulation, material released from lower Chesapeake Bay tributaries has the potential to be transported to the upper Bay. How far and what fraction of the material from tributaries can be carried to the upper estuary have not been quantitatively investigated. For an estuary system with multiple tributaries, the relative contribution from each tributary can provide valuable information for source assessment and fate prediction for riverine materials and passive moving organisms. We conducted long‐term numerical simulations using multiple passive tracers that are independently released in the headwater of five main rivers (i.e., Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers) and calculated the relative contribution of each river to the total material in the mainstem. The results show that discharge from Susquehanna River exerts the dominant control on the riverine material throughout the entire mainstem. Despite the smaller contribution from the lower‐middle Bay tributaries to the total materials in the mainstem, materials released from these rivers have a high potential to be transported to the middle‐upper Bay through the bottom inflow by the persistent estuarine circulation. The fraction of the tributary material transported to the upper Bay depends on the location of the tributary. Materials released near the mouth are subject to a rapid flushing process, small retention time, and strong shelf current. Our results reveal three distinct spatial patterns for materials released from the main river, tributary, and coastal oceans. This study highlights the important control of estuarine circulation over horizontal and vertical distributions of materials in the mainstem.

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A Numerical Modeling Approach to Predict the Effect of a Storm Surge Barrier on Hydrodynamics and Long-Term Transport Processes in a Partially Mixed Estuary

Cited by 18 publications

References 74 publications

Role of Baroclinic Processes on Flushing Characteristics in a Highly Stratified Estuarine System, Mobile Bay, Alabama

Role of Baroclinic Processes on Flushing Characteristics in a Highly Stratified Estuarine System, Mobile Bay, Alabama

Response of Salt Transport and Residence Time to Geomorphologic Changes in an Estuarine System

Transport of Riverine Material From Multiple Rivers in the Chesapeake Bay: Important Control of Estuarine Circulation on the Material Distribution

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