A numerical scheme for modeling tidal wetting and drying

This paper introduces a numerical scheme developed to model the wetting and drying of coastal areas by the tide, suitable for an oceanic circulation model using finite differences. It is based on existing numerical schemes developed for isopycnic models for which the layer thickness can vanish when...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Geophysical Research Vol. 116; no. C3
Main Authors Lahaye, S., Gouillon, F., Baraille, R., Pichon, A., Pineau-Guillou, L., Morel, Y.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2011
Subjects
coastal circulation
Geophysics
Marine
numerical schemes
Oceanography
Physical oceanography
tides
wetting and drying
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Summary:This paper introduces a numerical scheme developed to model the wetting and drying of coastal areas by the tide, suitable for an oceanic circulation model using finite differences. It is based on existing numerical schemes developed for isopycnic models for which the layer thickness can vanish when they interact with the bottom topography. Some original features are added and the scheme is optimized to accurately reproduce analytical solutions of an idealized problem. The main parameters of this numerical scheme are (1) a critical height, which depends on the local bottom slope and the grid step, and (2) the Rossby number. This original numerical scheme is applied to a realistic barotropic configuration of the Normand‐Breton Gulf where tidal amplitudes are large and where the wet/dry front location varies greatly.
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ISSN:0148-0227
2169-9275
2156-2202
2169-9291
DOI:10.1029/2010JC006666