Passive Dispersive Transport Modelling: Comparison with Experimental Rhodamine Data in the Elbe Estuary, Germany

by Joachim Krohn, GKSS Forschungszentrum Geesthacht, Geesthacht, Germany,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Estuarine and Coastal Modeling

Abstract:

Aiming at modelling of the complex water mass, suspended matter and pollutant transport in a tidal estuary, the ability of simulating the transport of passive, conservative tracers is prerequisite for more detailed studies on non-conservative and non-passive substances. The study reported here only comprises a small portion (validation of dispersive flux calculation) of a more comprehensive project on estuarine transport processes. Data of a tracer experiment in a 40 km long reach of the upper part of a macrotidal estuary in northwest Germany (river Elbe) have been available. A dye of 120 kg Rhodamine-B had been released nearly instantaneously into the river. The temporal and spatial evolution of the dye concentration during some consecutive tides (diurnal) was observed by two ships, both on longitudinal profiles and a cross section. A time-dependent finite-difference model with vertically integrated formulation has been used in order to simulate the current field. Tracer dispersion is simulated by a Lagrangean Monte Carlo technique. The advective part of the tracer motion is determined by the calculated current field, turbulent diffusion is simulated by a randomly generated fluctuation part.

Subject Headings: Water pollution | Estuaries | Probe instruments | Water supply systems | Water resources | Sediment transport | Simulation models | Germany | Europe

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