Development and Verification of a Three-Dimensional Numerical Hydrodynamic, Salinity, and Temperature Model of Chesapeake Bay. Volume 1. Main Text and Appendix D

Abstract

A time-varying three-dimensional (3-D) numerical hydrodynamic model of Chesapeake Bay has been developed to provide flow fields to a 3-D water quality model of the bay. The water surface, 3-D velocity field, salinity, and temperature are computed. Major physical processes affecting bay circulation and vertical mixing are modeled. A particular feature of the model is the solution of transformed equations on a boundary-fitted grid in the horizontal plane. The 3-D model has been verified through application to six data sets. The first three were about 1 month long each and represented a dry summer condition, a spring runoff, and a fall wind-mixing event. The last three were yearlong simulations for the years of 1984, 1985, and 1986. These years represent a wet, dry, and average freshwater inflow year, respectively. A major storm in november 1985 over the lower portion of the bay resulted in a 200-year flood on the James River and served to demonstrate the ability of the model to simulate extreme events. Results from these applications demonstrate that the model is a good representation of the hydrodynamics of the Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA243785

Entities

People

  • B. B. Hsieh
  • B. H. Johnson
  • H. L. Butler
  • K. W. Kim
  • R. E. Heath

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundaries
  • Chesapeake Bay
  • Data Sets
  • Environmental Protection
  • Equations
  • Flow Fields
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanics
  • Potomac River
  • Regression Analysis
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Three Dimensional
  • Turbulence
  • Two Dimensional
  • Water Quality
  • Water Resources
  • Wind Velocity

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation