Numerical Modeling of Sediment Transport and Its Effect on Algal Biomass Distribution in Lake Pontchartrain Due to Flood Release from Bonnet CarréSpillway

In order to protect the city of New Orleans from the Mississippi River flooding, the Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) was constructed from 1929 to 1936 to divert flood water from the river into Lake Pontchartrain and then into the Gulf of Mexico. During the BCS opening for flood release, large amounts of freshwater, nutrients, sediment, etc. were discharged into Lake Pontchartrain, and caused a lot of environmental problems. To evaluate the environmental impacts of the flood water on lake ecosystems, a two-dimensional numerical model was developed based on CCHE2D and applied to simulate the flow circulation, sediment transport and algal biomass distribution in Lake Pontchartrain. The effect of sediment concentration on the growth of algae was considered in the model. The numerical model was calibrated using field measured data provided by USGS, and then it was validated by the BCS Opening Event in 1997. The simulated results were generally in good agreement with filed data and satellite imagery. The field observation and numerical model show that during the spillway opening for flood release, the sediment concentration is very high, which greatly restricts the growth of algae, so there is no algal bloom observed in the lake. After the closure of BCS, the sediment concentration in the lake reduces gradually, and the nutrient concentration of the lake is still high. Under these conditions, numerical results and satellite imagery showed that the chlorophyll concentration was high and algal bloom might occur.

Quasi-3D Numerical Simulation of Tidal Hydrodynamic Field

Based on the 2D horizontal plane numerical model, a quasi-3D numerical model is established for coastal regions of shallow water. The characteristics of this model are that the velocity profiles;can be obtained at the same time when the equations of the value of difference between the horizontal current velocity and its depth-averaged velocity in the vertical direction are solved and the results obtained are consistent with the results of the 2D, model. The circulating flow in the rectangular area induced by wind is simulated and applied to the tidal flow field of the radial sandbanks in the South Yellow Sea. The computational results from this quasi-3D model are in good agreement with analytical results and observed data. The solution of the finite difference equations has been found to be stable, and the model is simple, effective and practical.

NUMERICAL MODELING OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN CHANNEL BENDS

An algorithm to compute three-dimensional sediment transport effect was proposed in this paper to enhance the capability of depth-averaged numerical models. This algorithm took into account of non-uniform distributions of flow velocities and suspended sediment concentrations along water depth, it significantly enhanced the applicability of 2D models in simulating open channel flows, especially in channel bends. Preliminary numerical experiments in a U-shaped and a sine-generated experimental channel indicate that the proposed method performs quite well in predicting the change of bed-deformation in channel bends due to suspended sediment transport. This method provides an effective alternative for the simulations of channel morphodynamic changes.

Simulation of Artificial Grain Feeding in Order to Reach Dynamical Bed Stabilisation Along the River Rhine

The Wesel-Xanten stretch of the fiver Rhine between km-812.5 and km-821.5 is one of the reaches where strong erosion leads to high maintenance efforts conceming navigability.In order to improve the naviga- tion conditions without aggravating the flood protection,but also ensuring that the ecological system of the river is not damaged,investigations of the morphodynamical processes in connection with artificial grain feeding ac- tivities have to be carried out by Federal Waterways Engineering and Research...