Mathematical Modeling of Tidal Circulation and Sediment Transport in the Gulf of Kachchh, West Coast of India

Abstract

A multilevel breadth-averaged numerical model has been developed to study the tidal circulation, salinity and suspended sediment transport in the gulf of Khambhat along the west coast of India. The model is fully non-linear and uses a semi-explicit finite difference scheme to solve mass, momentum and advection diffusion equations in a vertical plane. A turbulent kinetic energy scheme is used to parameterize the vertical transfer of momentum, salinity and suspended sediments. The model is forced by prescribing the tidal elevations along the seaward open boundary of the analysis region. The tide in the gulf is mainly represented in the model by the semi diurnal M2 constituent. Numerical experiments are carried out to compute the tidal circulation, salinity intrusion and suspended sediment transport in the gulf region. Keywords: Numerical model; turbulent kinetic energy; tidal circulation; salinity; suspended sediment and gulf of Kachchh.