Impacts of Tropical Cyclones on the Caribbean Under Future Climate Conditions

Joint effects of the dynamic sea-level rise projected changes in the large-scale atmosphere/ocean circulation, and wave climate on hurricane-induced extreme water levels in the Caribbean region are assessed. We use the 2D-depth integrated ADCIRC + SWAN wave-ocean model, baroclinically coupled to an ocean-eddying version of the Community Earth...

Simultaneous measurements of tidal straining and advection at two parallel transects far downstream in the Rhine ROFI

This study identifies and unravels the processes that lead to stratification and destratification in the far field of a Region of Freshwater Influence (ROFI). We present measurements that are novel for two reasons: (1) measurements were carried out with two vessels that sailed simultaneously over two cross-shore transects; (2) the measurements...

Near-Bottom Currents on the Middle Shoreface in the Presence of the Rhine River Plume

The South-Holland coast of the Netherlands undergoes the influence of the Rhine river plume released from the Rotterdam waterways. An experiment, STRAINS, was conducted to study the impact of the fresh water on the nearshore hydrodynamics and sand transport. As part of the experiment, an instrumented bottom frame measured the near-bed...

Accurate vertical profiles of turbulent flow in z-layer models

Three-dimensional hydrodynamic z-layer models, which are used for simulating the flow in rivers, estuaries, and oceans, suffer from an inaccurate and often discontinuous bottom shear stress representation, due to the staircase bottom. We analyze the governing equations and clearly show the cause of the inaccuracies. Based on the analysis, we...

A numerical study of mixing and stratification dynamics in the Ria de Arousa estuary (nw Spain) during summer

In this paper we explore the role of the river run-off, the tidal regime and the local winds in the dynamics of the Ria de Arousa estuary during the summer period, using for that purpose the numerical model Delft3D. First of all, a simulation under real hydrological and meteorological conditions is conducted in order to validate the ability of...

Wind and waves in extreme hurricanes

Waves breaking at the ocean surface are important to the dynamical, chemical and biological processes at the air-sea interface. The traditional view is that the white capping and aero-dynamical surface roughness increase with wind speed up to a limiting value. This view is fundamental to hurricane forecasting and climate research but it has...

Mesh generation in archipelagos

A new mesh size field is presented that is specifically designed for efficient meshing of highly irregular oceanic domains: archipelagos. The new approach is based on the standard mesh size field that uses the proximity to the nearest coastline. Here, the proximities to the two nearest coastlines are used to calculate the distance between two...

On total turbulent energy and the passive and active role of buoyancy in turbulent momentum and mass transfer

An explanation for salinity- and SPM-induced vertical countergradient buoyancy fluxes

Measurements of turbulent fluctuations of velocity, salinity, and suspended particulate matter (SPM) are presented. The data show persistent countergradient buoyancy fluxes. These countergradient fluxes are controlled by the ratio of vertical turbulent kinetic energy (VKE) and available potential energy (APE) terms in the buoyancy flux equation....

Advection of the salt wedge and evolution of the internal flow structure in the Rotterdam Waterway

An analysis of field measurements recorded over a tidal cycle in the Rotterdam Waterway is presented. These measurements are the first to elucidate the processes influencing the along-channel current structure and the excursion of the salt wedge in this estuary. The salt wedge structure remained stable throughout the measuring period. The...

The effects of the internal flow structure on SPM entrapment in the Rotterdam Waterway

Field measurements are presented, which are the first to quantify the processes influencing the entrapment of suspended particulate matter (SPM) at the limit of saltwater intrusion in the Rotterdam Waterway. The estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) is shown to be maintained by the trapping of fluvial SPM at the head of the salt wedge. The trapping...

An accurate momentum advection scheme for a z-level coordinate models

In this paper, we focus on a conservative momentum advection discretisation in the presence of zlayers. While in the 2Dcase conservation ofmomentum is achieved automatically for an Eulerian advection scheme, special attention is required in the multi-layer case. We show here that an artificial vertical structure of the flow can be introduced...

A streamline tracking algorithm for semi-Lagrangian advection schemes based on the analytic integration of the velocity field

A new scheme for the construction on an unstructured grid of the streamlines of the three-dimensional shallow water equations is presented. The qualitative advantages of the scheme, notably closed streamlines and realistic treatment of closed boundaries, are derived and the spatial accuracy is demonstrated. Semi-Lagrangian advection schemes...