Hydrodynamics in Shallow Estuaries with Complex Bathymetry and Large Tidal Ranges

Abstract

Understanding the dynamics of flows, mixing and turbulence in estuaries with large tidal range and complex bathymetry. This includes making the connections between Lagrangian and Eulerian mean flow quantities as well as the role of fronts in determining overall estuarine structure. Of particular interest are (a) the dynamics of stratified turbulence in flows that are both strongly sheared and strongly stratified and (b) the effects of spatially varying bottom roughness on drag including directional sensitivity of bottom drag. This work is important to modeling flows in complex estuaries found worldwide, e.g. on the Korean peninsula. By understanding the dynamics of these flows, necessarily limited observations can be integrated most effectively with numerical models in order to make predictions of environmental conditions likely to be encountered in naval operations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2011
Accession Number
ADA557168

Entities

People

  • Stephen G. Monismith

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bathymetry
  • Buoyancy
  • Cartesian Coordinates
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Data Analysis
  • Dispersions
  • Drag
  • Dynamics
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Mixing
  • Naval Operations
  • Observation
  • Residuals
  • Roughness
  • Stratification
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent Mixing

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.