Simulation of cumulative effects of nearshore restoration projects on estuarine hydrodynamics

Yang, Zhaoqing; Khangaonkar, Tarang; Calvi, Maria; Nelson, Kurt

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2008.12.006

Cited by 34 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…For these species, intertidal and shallow subtidal areas and marsh regions are important for rearing juveniles and in the early stages of their life, dispersal by currents are important. In fact, hydrodynamic simulations conducted by Yang and Khangaonkar (2005) and Yang et al (2010) aimed to address proposed marsh restoration efforts in the SRE suggest that the mudflat regions are important for transport and trapping of sediment and juvenile fish. Thus, the hydrodynamic connectivity between the mudflats and main channel, which is mitigated by the frontal presence plays in important role in these transport processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Frontogenesis and Frontal Progression of a Trapping-Generated Estuarine Convergence Front and Its Influence on Mixing and Stratification

Giddings

Fong

Monismith

et al. 2011

Estuaries and Coasts

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Estuarine fronts are well known to influence transport of waterborne constituents such as phytoplankton and sediment, yet due to their ephemeral nature, capturing the physical driving mechanisms and their influence on stratification and mixing is difficult. We investigate a repetitive estuarine frontal feature in the Snohomish River Estuary that results from complex bathymetric shoal/ channel interactions. In particular, we highlight a trapping mechanism by which mid-density water trapped over intertidal mudflats converges with dense water in the main channel forming a sharp front. The frontal density interface is maintained via convergent transverse circulation driven by the competition of lateral baroclinic and centrifugal forcing. The frontal presence and propagation give rise to spatial and temporal variations in stratification and vertical mixing. Importantly, this front leads to enhanced stratification and suppressed vertical mixing at the end of the large flood tide, in contrast to what is found in many estuarine systems. The observed mechanism fits within the broader context of frontogenesis mechanisms in which varying bathymetry drives lateral convergence and baroclinic forcing. We expect similar trapping-generated fronts may occur in a wide variety of estuaries with shoal/channel morphology and/or braided channels and will similarly influence stratification, mixing, and transport.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Frontogenesis and Frontal Progression of a Trapping-Generated Estuarine Convergence Front and Its Influence on Mixing and Stratification

Giddings

Fong

Monismith

et al. 2011

Estuaries and Coasts

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“…The model employs the Smagorinsky scheme for horizontal mixing [35] and the Mellor Yamada, level 2.5, turbulent closure scheme for vertical mixing [36]. FVCOM has been widely used to simulate circulations in coastal and estuarine environments [29,[37][38][39][40][41][42], storm surge predictions [43][44][45], and nearshore restorations [15,16].…”

Section: Coastal Ocean Hydrodynamic Model-fvcommentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerical models have been used to simulate the hydrodynamics and evaluate the restoration alternatives for improving habitats and connectivity in the nearshore and river floodplain regions as well as river stream and upstream floodplains [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. A conventional hydrodynamic analysis for upstream floodplain is often conducted using one-dimensional (1D) models with the assumption that the lateral or vertical variations are small.…”

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confidence: 99%

Integrated modeling of flood flows and tidal hydrodynamics over a coastal floodplain

et al. 2011

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The interactions of physical processes between estuaries and upstream river floodplains are of great importance to the fish habitats and ecosystems in coastal regions. Traditionally, a hydraulic analysis of floodplains has used one-or two-dimensional models. While this approach may be sufficient for planning the engineering design for flood protection, it is inadequate when floodwaters inundate the floodplain in a complex manner. Similarly, typical estuarine and coastal modeling studies do not consider the effect of upstream river floodplains because of the technical challenge of modeling wetting and drying processes in floodplains and higher bottom elevations in the upstream river domain. While various multiscale model frameworks have been proposed for modeling the coastal oceans, estuaries, and rivers with a combination of different models, this paper presents a modeling approach for simulating the hydrodynamics in the estuary and river floodplains, which provides a smooth transition between the two regimes using an unstructured-grid, coastal ocean model. This approach was applied to the Skagit River estuary and its upstream river floodplain of Puget Sound along the northwest coast of North America. The model was calibrated with observed data for water levels and velocities under low-flow and high-flood conditions. This study successfully demonstrated that a three-dimensional estuarine and coastal ocean model with an unstructured-grid framework and wetting-drying capability can be extended much further upstream to simulate the inundation processes and the dynamic interactions between the estuarine and river floodplain regimes.

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“…It has been successfully applied to simulate hydrodynamics and transport processes in many estuaries and coastal waters (Zheng et al 2003;Chen and Rawson 2005;Zhao et al 2006;Weisberg and Zheng 2006;Aoki and Isobe 2007;Chen et al 2008). In Puget Sound, PNNL has applied the model with great success to a number of water bodies, including Skagit Bay, the Snohomish River, Port Susan Bay, the Nisqually Delta, and the entire Puget Sound (Yang and Khangaonkar 2008;Yang et al 2009aYang et al , b, 2010Khangaonkar and Yang 2010). In addition to its capability of simulating hydrodynamics, FVCOM includes sub-models for sediment and water quality processes and is also being coupled to other models, e.g., the Corps of Engineers Integrated Compartment Water Quality model (CE-QUAL-ICM) and the GNOME oil-spill-trajectory model.…”

Section: The Hydrodynamic Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL's) Marine Science Laboratory has been actively supporting a number of nearshore restoration projects in the Puget Sound, including restoration at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Dungeness River Delta, multiple projects in the Snohomish Estuary, Port Susan and Leque Island restoration projects on the Stillaguamish River, and various projects on the Skagit River estuary (Yang and Khangaonkar 2008;Yang et al 2009aYang et al , 2010Khangaonkar and Yang 2010). Through these studies, PNNL has developed detailed models for the associated sub-basins (e.g., the Whidbey Basin) and hydrodynamic and transport models covering the entire Puget Sound in intermediate and fine scales in supporting decision makers (Yang and Khangaonkar 2007;Yang et al 2009b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Hydrodynamic and Transport model of Bellingham Bay in Support of Nearshore Habitat Restoration

Wang

Yang²,

Khangaonkar³

2010

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Executive SummaryIn this study, a hydrodynamic model based on the unstructured-grid finite volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) was developed for Bellingham Bay, Washington. The model simulates water surface elevation, velocity, temperature, and salinity in a three-dimensional domain that covers the entire Bellingham Bay and adjacent water bodies, including Lummi Bay, Samish Bay, Padilla Bay, and Rosario Strait. The model was developed using Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's high-resolution Puget Sound and Northwest Straits circulation and transport model. A sub-model grid for Bellingham Bay and adjacent coastal waters was extracted from the Puget Sound model and refined in Bellingham Bay using bathymetric light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and river channel cross-section data. The model uses tides, river inflows, and meteorological inputs to predict water surface elevations, currents, salinity, and temperature. A tidal open boundary condition was specified using standard National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predictions. Temperature and salinity open boundary conditions were specified based on observed data. Meteorological forcing (wind, solar radiation, and net surface heat flux) was obtained from NOAA real observations and National Center for Environmental Prediction North American Regional Analysis outputs. The model was run in parallel with 48 cores using a time step of 2.5 seconds. It took 18 hours of cpu time to complete 26 days of simulation. The model was calibrated with oceanographic field data for the period of 6/10/2009 to 6/25/2009. These data were collected specifically for the purpose of model development and calibration. They include time series of water-surface elevation, currents, temperature, and salinity as well as temperature and salinity profiles during instrument deployment and retrieval. Comparisons between model predictions and field observations show an overall reasonable agreement in both temporal and spatial scales. Comparisons of root mean square error values for surface water elevation, velocity, temperature, and salinity time series are 0.11 m, 0.10 m/s, 1.28 o C, and 1.91 ppt, respectively. The model was able to reproduce the salinity and temperature stratifications inside Bellingham Bay. Wetting and drying processes in tidal flats in Bellingham Bay, Samish Bay, and Padilla Bay were also successfully simulated.Both model results and observed data indicated that water surface elevations inside Bellingham Bay are highly correlated to tides. Circulation inside the bay is weak and complex and is affected by various forcing mechanisms, including tides, winds, freshwater inflows, and other local forcing factors. The Bellingham Bay model solution was successfully linked to the NOAA oil spill trajectory simulation model -General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME).‖ Overall, the Bellingham Bay model has been calibrated reasonably well and can be used to provide detailed hydrodynamic information in the bay and adjacent water bodies. While there is room for f...

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Simulation of cumulative effects of nearshore restoration projects on estuarine hydrodynamics

Cited by 34 publications

References 26 publications

Frontogenesis and Frontal Progression of a Trapping-Generated Estuarine Convergence Front and Its Influence on Mixing and Stratification

Frontogenesis and Frontal Progression of a Trapping-Generated Estuarine Convergence Front and Its Influence on Mixing and Stratification

Integrated modeling of flood flows and tidal hydrodynamics over a coastal floodplain

Development of a Hydrodynamic and Transport model of Bellingham Bay in Support of Nearshore Habitat Restoration

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