Basin to Inlet Scale Unstructured Grid Hydrodynamic Circulation Modeling of the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, and Adjacent Marginal Seas

We have developed a comprehensive high resolution circulation model driven by tides and winds in the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, Western Pacific, and the connected marginal seas. Marginal seas include the Yellow Sea, the East and South China through the Arafura Seas, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea. The tidal and wind driven circulation patterns are particularly complex in the marginal seas due to the shallow depths and the resulting standing waves. The circulation model ADCIRC is used to look at barotropic tides and seasonal and tropical wind driven events for the purpose of understanding the general dynamics of these regions. Of specific interest are baroclinically driven dissipation along the shelf break and ridges, shelf dissipation, tide-wind driven eddy structures through island chains, and the interaction of these processes.

Towards this end we have developed a single unstructured grid to encompass the entire region providing adequate resolution over submarine ridges, shelf breaks, and shallow reef systems, in addition to highly resolved bays, ports and harbors important to the region. The model directly ties ocean scale dynamics to long term water levels available within intricate harbor complexes. The model system is driven by in-situ data, smart process-based coupling paradigms, and other models to achieve hydrodynamic consistency and accuracy. The understanding of the dissipation processes within the ocean basins, shallow seas, over reefs, shelf breaks and ridges, shelves, estuaries and bays is critical to the hydrodynamic performance of the model.