A Numerical Study of Tidal Asymmetry: Preferable Asymmetry of Nonlinear Mechanisms in Xiangshan Bay, East China Sea

In-situ measurements in Xiangshan Bay, the East China Sea, show that the duration of the rising tide is shorter than that of the falling tide around the bay mouth, while it becomes much longer in the inner bay. A finite volume coastal ocean model(FVCOM) with an unstructured mesh was applied to simulate the asymmetric tidal field of Xiangshan Bay. The model reproduced the observed tidal elevations and currents successfully. Several numerical experiments were conducted to clarify the roles of primary mechanisms underlying the asymmetric tidal field. According to the model results, the time-varying channel depth and nonlinear advection prefer shorter duration of the rising tide in Xiangshan Bay, while the time-varying bay width favors longer duration of the rising tide. The overtides generated by these two opposite types of nonlinear mechanisms are out of phase, resulting in smaller M4 amplitude than the sumfold of each individual contribution. Although the bottom friction as a nonlinear mechanism contributes little to the generation of overtide M4, it is regarded as a mechanism that could cause a shorter duration of the rising tide, for it can slow down the M2 phase speed much more than it slows down the M4 phase speed. The time-varying depth, nonlinear advection and bottom friction are dominating factors around the bay mouth, while the time-varying width dominates in the inner bay, causing the tidal elevation asymmetry to be inverted along the bay.

Contributors to tidal duration asymmetry with varied coastline configurations on western shelf of Yellow Sea

Coastal management in China is confronted with an urgent choice between natural restoration and maintenance of existing seawalls and reclaimed land for economic development.A key criterion for making this decision is the resilience to coastal flooding,which depends on the ability to predict tidal level.Tidal duration asymmetry(TDA)is a key parameter in determination of the arrival and duration of flood tides.This study selected the western inner shelf of the Yellow Sea(WYS)as the study area and investigated the responses of TDA to different shoreline configurations and relative sea level rise.The responses of TDA to shoreline reconstruction yielded spatial variability locally and remotely.In the nearshore area,the responses of TDA to the complex ocean environment mainly originated from the combined functions of reflection,bottom friction,and advection,which controlled the energy transfer from M2 or S2 constituents to their overtides or compound tides.The sensitivity of TDA to coastline typologies was not limited to coastal waters but could stretch over the entire inner shelf.The vulnerability of tidal responses was due to the displacement of the M2 amphidrome of the Kelvin wave on the WYS,which in turn changed tidal energy fluxes over the regime.The relative sea level rise could intensify the feedback of TDA to seawalls and land reclamation.

A numerical study on the effect of tidal flat's slope on tidal dynamics in the Xiangshan Bay, China

The Xiangshan Bay is a semi-enclosed and narrow bay, which is characterized by large scale tidal flats and has been historically utilized through coastal construction and aquaculture engineering. The hydrodynamic model using the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model（FVCOM） was constructed to examine the changes of tidal dynamics due to the variation of tidal flat slopes. According to the model results, a decreased slope of a tidal flat would amplify the M2 tidal amplitude and delay the M2 tidal phase in the inner harbor, due to an increased tidal prism, and vice versa. The amplitude of the main shallow-water tide M4 would be amplified/dampened in the entire bay due to the changed bottom friction, if the tidal flat＇s slope were reduced/increased at the Tie inlet. The phase was advanced. The change of a tidal flat＇s slope at the Tie inlet had greater impacts on tidal amplitude,phase and duration asymmetry, than that at the Xihu inlet. The impact of changes of the tidal flat slope at the Xihu inlet was small and was constrained locally. Changes in the tidal flats＇ slopes at the Tie and Xihu inlets changed the tidal duration asymmetry, residual current and tidal energy via modulating tides. The ebb dominance decreased when the tidal flat＇s slope at the Tie inlet was changed. Decreased/increased ebb dominance occurred when the tidal flat＇s slope was reduced/increased at the Xihu inlet. The residual current and tidal energy density was amplified/dampened and more/less tidal energy was dissipated, with reduced/increased slope at both of the inlets. The findings in this study are instructive to coastal engineering and estuarine management.