An integrated model for three-dimensional cohesive sediment transport in storm event and its application on Lianyungang Harbor, China

Prediction of cohesive sediment transport in storm process is important for both navigation safety and environment of the coastal zone. The difficulties to simulate cohesive sediment transport for a small-scale area such as around a harbor during storm events mainly include the low spatial resolution of the present reanalysis atmosphere forcing, the complex hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes, and their interactions. In this paper, an integrated atmosphere-wave-3D hydrodynamic and cohesive sediment transport model with unstructured grid, which is comprised of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model, and Finite-Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM), was developed to solve the abovementioned problems. For cohesive sediment, the flocculation and hindered settling were included, and a self-weight consolidation processes was introduced to the existing FVCOM. Interactions between components were considered by providing data fields to each other in an offline manner. The integrated model was applied to simulate cohesive sediment transport around Lianyungang Harbor, China, during Typhoon Wipha in 2007. Results identify that the atmosphere model WRF performed better in the simulation of wind field during typhoon process compared with QuikSCAT/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (QSCAT/NCEP) data. Simulation of wave model was directly affected by wind results as wave vector field driven by WRF wind field showed anticlockwise vortex while waves driven by QSCAT/NCEP wind field did not. The influence of water elevation and flow field on waves was great at the nearshore area. However, the effect of wave on current was not apparent, while the wind field played a more important role, especially on the current velocity. The cohesive sediment transport was greatly affected by wave due to the combined wave-current-induced shear stress. In general, simulation results of wind, wave, current, and sediment showed reasonable agreement with measured data. It is demonstrated that the integrated model developed in the paper is capable of providing high-resolution atmosphere data for other components, reproducing the complex hydrodynamics and cohesive sediment transport processes and taking account of the interaction between components. The integrated model is necessary for simulating the cohesive sediment transport in a small-scale area during storm events.