Numerical simulation of tidal hydrodynamics in the Arabian Gulf

Abstract

A vertically 2-D numerical model based on the Delft3D modelling system is set up, calibrated, and validated to simulate the tidal hydrodynamics in the Arabian Gulf. The model is a barotropic solution, controlled by 13 tidal components at open boundaries. The performance of the numerical model was evaluated using the hourly water level observations and the TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data. Statistical analysis showed a good agreement between the simulated and observed water levels. RMS error was found to be ranged from 0.07 to 0.23 m, with maximum discrepancies observed at Ras Tanura and Mina Sulman stations. However, the IOA between the simulated and observed water levels was significant (0.95–0.99). On average, the errors for the tidal constituents considered in the analysis are in the order of <0.02 m (4%). The M2, S2, K1 and O1 tidal waves represent the largest among other constituents, where the amplitude of S2 represents almost 30% of the M2, and the O1 tidal wave represents about 50% of the K1 tide. The co-tidal charts of the semidiurnal tides show the existence of two anticlockwise amphidromic systems in the north and south ends (centred around 28.25° and 24.5°N respectively) close to the western side, while the diurnal constituents form only a single amphidromic point in the central part, centred around 26.8°N (North Bahrain). On the other hand, the velocity amplitudes of the U and V components of the numerical model were compared with a previous observational study and found to be agreed well.