Inter-Comparison of Hydrodynamic Models of Gulf of Khambhat

Abstract

The complex seabed contours and geometry of basin lead to a unique tidal pattern along India's Gulf of Khambhat (GoK). Estimation of tidal levels and associated currents in this basin is challenging due to the amplification of tides and intense current magnitudes. In this study, the finite difference based numerical model, Delft3D-FLOW has been set up. Spatially varying bottom roughness parameters have been used to estimate the tidal levels and currents for the entire basin and the results are compared with an earlier work of Sathish Kumar and Balaji (2014 and 2015) based on an alternative finite element based numerical model, Telemac2D. An inter-comparison of model results shows good agreement with each other and with the field measurements. The tidal levels are observed to vary from 2m to more than 10m in the narrowing portion of the gulf while the maximum current velocity is seen as 3m/s.