HR: 16:45h
AN: OS52F-10    [PDF]
TI: Modeling Studies of the Effects of Tides, Winds and Point Heat Sources on the Circulation and Water Exchange in the Mt. Hope and Narragansett Bays
AU: * Zhao, L
EM: lzhao@Umassd.edu
AF: School for Marine Science and Technology of University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Blvd, New bedford, MA 02744 United States
AU: Goodman, L
EM: lgoodman@Umassd.edu
AF: School for Marine Science and Technology of University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Blvd, New bedford, MA 02744 United States
AU: Chen, C
EM: c1chen@UMassD.Edu
AF: School for Marine Science and Technology of University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Blvd, New bedford, MA 02744 United States
AU: Rothschild, B
EM: brothschild@UMassD.Edu
AF: School for Marine Science and Technology of University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Blvd, New bedford, MA 02744 United States
AU: Rountree, R
EM: rrountree@umassd.edu
AF: School for Marine Science and Technology of University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Blvd, New bedford, MA 02744 United States
AU: MacDonald, D
EM: dmacdonald@UMassD.Edu
AF: School for Marine Science and Technology of University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Blvd, New bedford, MA 02744 United States
AB: The Mt. Hope Bay (MHB) lies partially within both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and is connected to the northeast corner of Narragansett Bay (NB) by the East Passage and Sakonnet River. The finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) was applied to the MHB with inclusion of the NB and adjacent coastal areas of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This model is an unstructured grid, finite-volume, three-dimensional (3D) primitive equations ocean model developed by developed by Chen et al. (2003) for the study of coastal oceanic and estuarine circulation. Process-oriented numerical experiments with different setups of model horizontal resolutions and physical forces were conducted to examine the impact of tidal forcing, wind stresses, and point heat sources on the circulation, heat budget, and water exchange in the MHB and NB. Model results clearly show that residual circulation in both MHB and NB is characterized by multiple eddy-like circulation cells. Water exchanges between MHB and NB are mainly controlled by variable wind stresses. Model simulations with a high resolution of 10-50 m successfully re-produced the narrow warm water plume generated by the cooling water discharges from the Brayton Point Power Station (BPPS) to the MHB. This plume tended to be advected across the MHB during a tidal cycle. An energetic vertical mixing was detected within the plume, suggesting that there is a significant downward heat transfer inside the plume area. An operational model system with coupling of both a regional meso-scale meteorological model (MM5) and a water quality model (modified EPA WASP water quality model) is being developed. This system will be used to examine the impact of physical processes on the ecosystem in the MHB.
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling
DE: 4815 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics
DE: 4842 Modeling
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting