The complex seabed contours and geometry of basin lead to a unique tidal pattern along India's Gulf of Khambhat (GoK). Estimation of tidal levels and associated currents in this basin is challenging due to the amplification of tides and intense current magnitudes. In this study, the finite difference based numerical model, Delft3D-FLOW has been set up. Spatially varying bottom roughness parameters have been used to estimate the tidal levels and currents for the entire basin and the results are compared with an earlier work of Sathish Balaji (2014 and2015) based on an alternative finite element based numerical model, Telemac2D. An inter-comparison of model results shows good agreement with each other and with the field measurements. The tidal levels are observed to vary from 2m to more than 10m in the narrowing portion of the gulf while the maximum current velocity is seen as 3m/s.
A finite difference-based three-dimensional modeling has been conducted to evaluate tidal power density at different locations along the Gulf of Khambhat, India. The model uses the Navier-Stokes transport equation in three-dimensional plane under the assumption of shallow water and Boussinesq. The model results were validated with observed water levels and currents available in the literature. The Gulf has strong and varying currents and associated circulation patterns, especially in the northern region, due to complex bathymetry. The current velocities and corresponding power densities were computed for different vertical layers of the entire model domain. The maximum tidal current velocities are found in the northern region along the narrowing part of the Gulf. The estimated values are 2.6 and 1.5 m/s during spring and neap tidal cycles, respectively. Then, the energy flux approximation method has been used to estimate the tidal power densities along the gulf spatially and temporally. The estimated maximum available potential is about 3 and 0.7 kW/m 2 during spring and neap at two arbitrary point locations, respectively.
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