Sediment transport and river plume modeling in the south coast of Korea

A three-dimensional layer-level hybrid model developed by the author was applied to the Kwangyang Bay located in south coast of Korea to estimate the impact of the development of the bay. The simulations were performed to quantify the changes of the spreading pattern of the runoff from the Sumjin River and sediment transport. In addition, field measurements on the hydrodynamic and sediment conditions have been carried out around the Kwangyang Bay from November 1986 to August 2004. The model predicted tidal currents and sediment transport rate agreed reasonably well with the measurements. The sediment transport in the channel is seaward and the tidal flat land-ward. The erosion occurs in the entrance areas where the current velocities are very strong whereas the deposition occurs in the inner part of the bay with weak current.