A Predictive Model of the Currents in Cleveland Bay

by Brian King, Australian Inst of Marine Science, Townsville M.C.,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Estuarine and Coastal Modeling

Abstract:

A two-dimensional (depth-averaged) numerical model is proposed to describe the hydrodynamics of Cleveland Bay and is used to investigate the water circulation within the Bay. By utilizing data from the field and the literature, the open boundary conditions used to force the model have been tailored to respond to variances in the behaviour of the dominant shelf- scale processes present in this region; namely: the tides and the wind field as well as the quasi-steady East Australian Current. Thus, the internal circulation dynamics of Cleveland Bay can be readily determined by simply specifying the period of interest and the corresponding wind field. The model can be run in real-time or be used to simulate futuristic events. This model has been verified with field data, and sensitivity tests demonstrate the applicability of the open boundary formulations. Local authorities, who are responsible for the economic and ecological management of the bay, can readily employ such a predictive model for assessing the influence that the water circulation has on present and future activities within Cleveland Bay.

Subject Headings: Bays | Numerical models | Wind engineering | Water circulation | Tides | Hydrologic models | Hydrodynamics | Ohio | United States

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