Formation of sand banks due to tidal vortices around straits

Sand banks around straits are used as a commercial fishing ground. In order to clarify the mechanism of sand bank formation, the Lagrangian method was used to measure currents and turbidity around the banks in the Neko Seto Sea in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. A neutrally buoyant float released in the Neko Seto Strait at the maximum tidal flow stage was engulfed in a pair of tidal vortices and moved around one of the sand banks. The vertical distribution of turbidity, which was measured by the vessel moving with the neutral float, showed an extremely high turbidity in the bottom layer of this bank area. According to the analysis of these observational data, the process of sand bank formation around straits is as follows. The tidal vortex transports water mass with suspended materials (including sand) which are whirled up at the bottom by the tidal jet. In the decaying stage of the vortex, the materials in the bottom layer are gathered in the central part of the vortex by the secondary convergent flow in the vortex. Among these materials, a large-size sand particle with a high critical erosion velocity accumulates at the bottom and forms banks. The distribution of bottom sediment and the thickness of alluvium support this result.     

Diagnoses of vertical transport in a three-dimensional finite element model of the tidal circulation around an island

A three-dimensional finite element model is used to investigate the formation of shallow-water eddies in the wake of Rattray Island (Great Barrier Reef, Australia). Field measurements and visual observations show that stable eddies develop in the lee of the island at rising and falling tides. The water turbidity downstream of the island suggests the existence of strong upwelling that would be responsible for carrying bed sediments up to the sea surface. We first propose to look at the upwelling velocity and then use the theory of the age to diagnose vertical transport. The water age is defined as the time elapsed since particles of water left the sea bottom, where the age is prescribed to be zero. Two versions of this diagnosis are considered. Although the model predicts upwelling within the eddies, it is not sufficiently intense to account for vertical transport throughout the water column during the life span of the eddies. As mesh resolution increases, this upwelling does not intensify. However, strong upwelling is then resolved off the island's tips, which is confirmed by the results obtained with the age. This study also shows that the finite element method, together with unstructured meshes, performs well for representing three-dimensional flow past an island.     

Coastal tidal jets and tidal fringe development around the Isles of Scilly

Tidal jets are a ubiquitous feature of the coastal environment and result from strong tidal streaming off coastal features such as promontories. Around the Isles of Scilly there exist two tidal jets which tend to propagate in a clockwise sense around the island group. Currents in excess of 90 cm s⁻¹ appear necessary for their production and the jets are characterized with a Reynolds number of about 30. It is shown that the jets indicate the direction of the maximum stream and the residual circulation around the islands. With an offshore component to the residual flow, tidal fringes may develop from the jets and such fringes were observed on the northern side of the islands.     

Phase distribution of tidal constituents around New Zealand

The phase distributions of the M₂, S₂, K₁, and O₁ tidal constituents around New Zealand are plotted from existing harmonic analyses of tidal heights. Both semidiurnal constituents exhibit a complete 360° range of phase around New Zealand, with complex areas of rapid phase change through or near the strait separating the two main islands. The K₁ amphidrome and that for O₁, which previously were thought to be centred on New Zealand, are shown to be located cast of New Zealand. The distributions plotted highlight areas where tidal observations are lacking.     

Variation of the tidal properties around Gran Canaria

Analysis of water level and current meter series from different locations on the island shelf of Gran Canaria reveals strong variations in tidal properties. Semidiurnal sea level amplitudes agree with the results obtained from global tidal models for this region only on the northern coast of the island, while they decrease towards the southwest (10 cm difference for the M₂ constituent). Semidiurnal currents present maxima at the southeastern and northwestern extremities of the island (30–40 cm s⁻¹ for M₂) and minima in the north-northeast and southwest (3–6 cm s⁻¹ for M₂), showing simultaneous strong changes in the phase. Diurnal levels and currents display smaller variations than the semidiurnal band. The behaviour of semidiurnal constituents is studied with the help of analytical and numerical solutions, in which the incident wave is modelled by a barotropic M₂ Kelvin wave. The results show that the insular shelf could be a source of differences in level amplitudes around the island and could be also responsible for the enhancement of currents in the southeast and northwest. They also show that the variation of the current phases is due to the amplification of the standing character of the wave at the northeastern and southwestern parts of the shelf.     

人类活动和自然演变共同驱动下黄河三角洲海域潮波及物质输运变化

在海堤建设等人类活动和三角洲蚀淤等自然演变的共同作用下,黄河三角洲岸线水深近年来发生了剧烈变化,同时也将引起邻近海域潮波系统及物质输运路径的重要变化。本文基于FVCOM数值模式,建立了黄河三角洲及邻近海域三维高分辨率潮汐、潮流及拉格朗日粒子追踪数值模型。通过与环渤海长期验潮站的潮汐调和常数、黄河三角洲临时潮位站和测流站的实测资料对比,模型结果验证良好,能较好反映黄河三角洲及邻近海域潮汐、潮流运动特征,并获得了2019年M₂分潮无潮点位置。通过设置1980年、2019年黄河三角洲岸线自然演变、海堤建设及相应水深地形变化的5个数值实验,结果表明：在人类活动与自然演变共同驱动下,黄河三角洲海域的M₂分潮无潮点向东南方向移动,主要影响因素为水深。黄河口向海延伸和海堤丁坝建设导致的岸线变化,对无潮点位置影响较小,但在该凸出岸段两侧形成余流流涡,使得黄河入海物质在莱州湾内停留时间变长,向渤海输运扩散的时间推迟。     

The rule of sediment transport on the Nanhui tidal flat in the Changjiang Estuary

The Nanhui tidal flat is located in the area of slow current where the ebb currents from the Changjiang Estuaryand the Hangzhou Bay converge and the flood current from the sea diverges into the estuary and the bay. The flat extends seaward in tongue shape and has a wide and gentle surface with a marked difference of tidal levels on its two sides, which results in the sediment longitudinal transport on the flat. The water-sediment conditions are diverse at different locations. The velocity and sediment concentration in intertidal zone are higher during the flood tide than those during the ebb tide. The net sediment transport is landward, resulting in a large amount of deposition of sediments on the shoal. However, the ebb current is the dominant one in deep-water area where the net sediment transport is seaward. There exist two circulation systems in plane view on the shoal and in its adjacent deep-water area, which results in the sediment exchanges between the flat and channel and between the estuary an     

Initiation of sand transport over coarse beds in tidal entrances

A tidal entrance often acts as a source or a sink for sand in the littoral zone. At many entrances in biologically productive regions the bed in the vicinity of the throat section (minimum flow area) is composed of sediment containing coarse material including large shells, with sand occurring in the interstitial regions between the shell-defined roughness elements. A stochastic relationship giving the critical bed shear stress for the initiation of sand transport under these conditions is applied to hydraulic and sedimentary data obtained from two entrances in Florida. The results agree well with the critical bed shear stresses derived from data based on the observation of sand movement at the bed. The entrainment function based on observations is found to be approximately three times the value obtained from Shields' criterion. A practical implication is that the use of Shields' criterion in the computation of the rate of sand transport will in general overpredict the rate through the entrance.     

Numerical modelling of water transport processes in partially-connected tidal basins

In the paper two types of numerical models – a lumped-parameter model and a high-resolution two-dimensional hydrodynamic model – are used to analyse the response of a system of partially-connected tidal basins to inhomogeneous open sea forcing. The equations of the lumped-parameter model, suitable for an arbitrary number of basins with sloping walls, are formulated based on one-dimensional continuity and momentum equations. Numerical solutions to the equations are thoroughly examined, showing the influence of inhomogeneous open sea forcing and of geometrical parameters of the basins on the tidal range and the water transport through the system, with particular emphasis given to inter-basin water exchange and cumulative water transport through basins boundaries. The results of the lumped-parameter model simulations for the tidal basins of the German Wadden Sea are successfully compared with the results of calculations with the two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, which is used to investigate in more detail circulation patterns and the influence of specific local features of inlet bathymetry on the hydrodynamic processes in the study area. The influence of wind on the basins response is discussed as well.     

Propagation of long waves in straits

The non-linear effects induced when a long wave propagates in a strait of arbitrary cross-section are investigated. Comparative analysis of the wave parameters for straits with different geometries is carried out. The relationships between the wave amplitudinal characteristics, the non-linearity scales, and the parameters of the strait's cross-section are considered.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

A combined numerical model of three-dimensional tidal motion and sediment transport in tidal current and its application

INTRODUCTIONTheregularpatternsofmovementanddistributionofcurrentandsedimentinwaterbodyinestuaryandatcoastareconcernedbythepublicatalltime,butonlyafewresearchesonthenumericalsimulationofthethree-dimensionalnonlinearmovementoftideandwave,inwhichLeendertse's(Leendertseetal.,1973)finitedifferencemethod(FDM)istheleadingone,havebeendoneuptonow.TheLeendertseFDMisnotverygoodinitsapplication.Themainreasonisthatinthemodethesquaregridsinaplanecomputationaldomainareadopted.Thisgridsystemcannotfitt…     

Numerical simulation of characteristics of semidiurnal tidal waves in sea region around Taiwan

INTRODUCTIONNumerica comutation and simu1ation of tidal waves in the closed ocean of China havebo greatly imProved in recent years. As far as the method Of numerica comPU8tion are con-cemed, we can divide them into two classes: beundary va1ue methed and initial value methed.The fOrmer needs the tidal level value of coast beund8ry and the side beundary of water shOuldbe given, and its calculative result dePends on the reliability of boundary value. The rnan-madeermr, caed by getting the…     

环台湾岛海域半日潮波特征的三维模拟

用1997版POM海洋模式,首次应用于环台湾岛海域的潮波数值研究.得到该海域的半日潮波主要为23°N以南西太平洋传来的胁振潮.影响台湾海峡的半日潮波分别由海峡南北口传入的两支潮波,且北支强于南支.福建沿岸湄州湾-兴化湾为最强潮区,其M₂分潮最大振幅可达240cm.最强潮流区位于澎湖水道,M₂分潮最大潮流达196cm/s.环台湾岛海域潮波潮流水平结构上除海峡北部原有一个圆流点外,还发现另外存在4个新的圆流点.潮流垂直结构上主要为右偏,接近底层处为左偏.     

Nearshore tidal currents and sand transport in a macrotidal environment

Benthic nearshore currents were measured continuously for a week over the subtidal zone fronting an open coast, macrotidal beach (spring tide range 9.5 meters) in Northwestern Australia. The shore-parallel currents were dominated by the semidiurnal tide; however pronounced asymmetries expressed the contributions of higher harmonics. Northerly flows at high tide were considerably stronger and of longer duration than southerly flows at low tide. Considering the combined effects of sediment agitation by waves and net transport by the tidal currents, it is shown that a mechanism may exist which could produce net northerly transport of “bed load” and southerly transport of suspended load.     

三维潮流和潮流输沙问题的一种混合数值模拟及其应用

应用一种平面迎风有限元与垂向隐式有限差分相结合的数值计算方法建立了三维潮流和潮流输沙数学模型,并分别与相应的理论公式进行了对比验证.将建立的模型对广西廉州湾水域进行了计算,与实测资料的对比分析表明模型的计算结果符合实际.     

崇明东北潮滩泥沙输运过程的研究

潮滩泥沙的输运过程是河口近岸泥沙输运的重要组成部分,也是诊断潮滩侵蚀-淤积的重要动力指标,特别是在地貌演变过程显著的区域更具指示意义.本研究选择长江口崇明岛东北部潮滩,在2018年3月30日-4月10日进行三脚架多参数观测,获取了高分辨率的流速、含沙量等剖面数据,运用机制分解法分析了连续21个潮周期的泥沙输运过程.结果...     

Accurate ocean tide modeling in southeast Alaska and large tidal dissipation around Glacier Bay

An accurate prediction of ocean tides in southeast Alaska is developed using a regional, barotropic ocean model with a finite difference scheme. The model skill is verified by the observational tidal harmonics in southeast Alaska including Glacier Bay. The result is particularly improved in Glacier Bay compared to the previous model described by Foreman et al. (2000). The model bathymetry dominates the model skill. We re-estimate tidal energy dissipation in the Alaska Panhandle and suggest a value for tidal energy dissipation of 3.4 GW associated with the M₂ constituent which is 1.5 times the estimation of Foreman et al. (2000). A large portion of the M₂ energy budget entering through Chatham Strait is dissipated in the vicinity of Glacier Bay. Moreover, it is shown that the developed model has the potential to correct the ocean tide loading effect in geodetic data more efficiently than the model of Foreman et al. (2000), especially around Glacier Bay.